The Daily Life of a Supreme Leader
by Synaptic-Firefly
Summary: Numbuh 362 and her adventures in the life of being the Supreme Leader of the Kids Next Door. Pairings galore if you squint. Prompt based, multi-shot story.
1. Prompt 1: Jewel Encrusted

**A/N: Ladies and (gents?) we are following a multi-shot prompt system! Yay! Basically, I am given a random prompt and I write about said prompt. I figured I'd have fun messing with Numbuh 362's character is all. :)**

Disclaimer: I own nothing of KND. Except Numbuh 24k. Yep.

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**Rating: K**

**Genre: General/Humor  
**

_Prompt 1: Jewel-Encrusted_

Rachel was not amused. No sir.

She only allowed this terrible tradition to come to pass because it pleased most of the female population of operatives. It was something they looked forward to yearly and who was she, their beloved leader, to deprive them of said tradition?

But it was horrible. _So horrible._

She granted clearance for the super secret, hush-hush spacecraft to land at the Moonbase docks, but even that secret didn't remain one for long. Word got out and now there was a mob of girls cheering and screaming as the spacecraft engaged at dock.

But the great Supreme Leader of the Kids Next Door expected this. Since it happens every. Single. Year.

Security operatives were, as usual, convulsed into by the swarm of high-strung females and Rachel once again wondered if she should raise the ice cream pay a bit more this year for their hard work and dedication. This was their least favorite day of the year as well and they dread it as much as they dreaded Brussels sprouts at home. You should not underestimate the underlying strength and resolve of women. At least they learn this early in their lifetimes.

Rachel watched from the safety of her office through the monitor briefly as she filed paperwork, sighing tiredly as she could allow herself to. She can hear their shrills that were echoed immensely throughout the base. The attendance of male operative count was low today. She expected that too. No boy would ever want to be around when girls formed a swarm of giddiness and excitement.

She really didn't want to watch the proceedings, but it was a protocol she must uphold in case things went out of hand (at least not as bad as what was happening now), and she always followed protocol. Always.

A few minutes pass and the swelling of high-pitched wails and cries escalated. Rachel knew that it was about to proceed and turned away from her work at last to change the channel to the special news bulletin of the _KND Afternoon News_. The beautiful Numbuh 10 graced the screen, looking just as giddy as the mob behind her.

"They are about to unveil it, ladies and gentlemen!" She cried happily. "And the crowd here couldn't be happier! Oh, I just hope I'm chosen!" The mob then erupted into cheers and she turned abruptly. "Oh! They're out! They're out!" Rachel watched in boredom as the camera shook unprofessionally as the cameraman tried to race after the hysterical anchor-girl, who pushed her way through to get a better look. The blond leader leaned against her chair as she watched.

Rachel wondered if Fanny was there. She didn't see her today, so her suspicions surfaced little by little as the day slowly passed by. Not that she was surprised of course. She personally knew that under that tough guy---girl, exterior lie the heart of a girly-girl. Even Rachel herself felt the mounting excitement of the unveiling slowly rise in her chest. She just wisely chose to ignore said urge is all.

Numbuh 24k, donning his usual dramatic dark coat and glasses with multiple lens attached, emerged from the shuttle, eliciting a deafening roar from the crowd. He arranged his glasses and snapped his fingers, summoning an operative from the shuttle who was carrying a velvet case.

Rachel's throat became very dry and her inner self screamed to look away, but she knew she couldn't. She never could. The cheers in the monitor seem to break the sound barrier itself.

Numbuh 24k cleared his throat and almost at once the cheering fell silent. It was almost eerie.

24k smiled. "Yes, yes it is that time again. The time that lays in infamy among the traditions here of the Kids Next Door." Claps and cheers echoed the docks. He shushed them. "But of course, there could only be ONE." He carefully detached the package from the operative's hands and laid a hand over the top. "Once a year, this is unveiled and only one day does the lucky operative get to wear it," He unclasped the top. "The names have been put in our box. Only those chosen by the high command can be entered…"

Rachel gulped guiltily at the last sentence. It was tradition that the Supreme Leader and other higher-ups sent in the names of the girls worthy of the raffle. Only those responsible, punctual and dedicated were chosen to be sent in. Not because of so-so, but because of how IMPORTANT it was to have these skills if they win. It was something so special, so precious…if it was lost or stolen…!

She shook her head. No, there was nothing to worry about. It would never happen, but she knocked on her desk just in case.

Numbuh 24k opened the case and an almost ethereal shine of light escaped, causing everyone (and Rachel too even as she watched on the monitor), to shield their eyes from the light.

The beacon faded almost instantly and the crowd "ooohed" at the sight. Rachel had to keep herself from dropping her jaw, failing slightly.

On top of the soft plush of the opened case lay the most beautiful candy necklace any child had the pleasure to look at. Golden beads of yellow gumdrops hung in a skip fashion from the string of silver, small jawbreakers that resembled pearls. In the center of the necklace was a complex embroidery pendant with candy string that weaved a multitude of colorful Jolly Ranchers together until the tip was a beautiful rare swirl mint.

Cooing and awing commenced amongst the crowd and Rachel didn't blame them one bit. While she admired this complex piece of candy jewelry, her real beef was the tradition that pertains to it. One lucky girl was to wear it for one full day and be the envy of the entire female populace.

She snapped out of her reverie when 24k shushed them a second time.

"A buhmillion years ago," He started dramatically, enticing everyone to sigh as he repeated the same story that was said every single year. "There lived a boy who was a dedicated operative of the third era of the KND. But his heart belonged to his greatest enemy, the Spoiled Brat from Three Floors Down…" Collective shouts of 'boo' echoed angrily, already knowing how the story would turn out. He shushed them again, a bit more impatiently this time.

"I'm not finished!" He shouted childishly. Rachel noticed that a few girls stuck their tongues out at him in retaliation. "The Spoiled Brat took advantage of his love and told him that the only way she'd go out with him was to create the best candy necklace in the history of the universe…" He leaned forward and his voice dropped hauntingly. "…and he DID…"

He straightened up. "…but it was at the cost of his own freedom. You see, the candy used in the construction of this necklace came at a terrible price. He risked his own team around the world to search for these priceless bits of candy and it cost him his dishonorable decommission and an indefinite grounding by his parents!" Absolute silence followed.

"Knowing that his time would be cut short, he presented this necklace to the Spoiled Brat and begged her to find him after his decommission for he would not remember her. She took the necklace and promised…" He created another dramatic pause and Rachel admitted that it was a good bit of drama to do so. "…but she didn't."

A couple of young operatives who found their first time with this tradition gasped in horror at these words and some started to cry.

"Oh yes, yes," He admonished quickly. "She went back on her word. You see, she never cared for him, only for the necklace. And he was decommissioned eventually and she never tried to find him." Some of the girls began to sob more. "But have no fear, for this story does not end here…"

Numbuh 24k smiled gleefully. "One girl operative who belonged to his sector at the time, knew of his deed to impress the girl he loved. She secretly harbored feelings for him but was too scared to act upon it. But she sought revenge from the Spoiled Brat and stole the necklace from her." The crowd cheered. "Once a year, she wore this necklace on this particular day…the day of his decommission…so she can remember the sacrifice he made in the name of love." Rachel smiled slightly as she saw Numbuh 3 in the crowd swooning slightly at the romantic undertones of the story. She wondered if Numbuh 5 was among the crowd since her name was sent in to the ballot. Maybe not. She never seemed the type to care for this sort of thing.

"The tradition lives on to this day!" 24k continued. "This female operative left the necklace to the KND so it would live on forever and ever and today…" He carefully lifted the necklace from the case and raised it over his head, the candy jewels glinting beautifully in the stray light. "We will decide the girl destined to wear this symbol of KND history!

Cheers erupted at full force, girls clapping enthusiastically and jumping in excitement. Rachel took a deep sip of her soda. She prayed to high heaven that whoever was chosen would take good care of this rare artifact. Numbuh 101 was probably in a fetal position underneath the necklace's case back in the museum, sucking his thumb and praying for the next day when the jewelry returned.

She set the can down on top of a few junk pages of reports and began sorting the mess on her desk meticulously, trying her hardest not to pay attention to the proceedings. Numbuh 24k summoned a box with names inside of them and began announcing that he will draw the number of the lucky operative and read it aloud.

Before she had the chance to shove the remaining cease and desist letters into the already overfilled file cabinet, a loud message noise sounded on her monitor. Sighing, she vaguely wished she remained on spy detail (less paperwork, more fun) and opened the incoming link, her professional voice hiding her bored feelings.

"This is the Supreme Leader's office, Numbuh 362," She answered the snowy screen. "What do you want?"

The screen's visual was cleared and a familiar British commander sat boldly through the screen, his half-hearted salute made only for her.

"This is Numbuh 1 of Sector V, Numbuh 362," Nigel responded, his face completely serious to an untrained eye. Rachel could easily see the amusement bubbling underneath it. "I am in need of assistance.'

A small curl started to tug at the corners of her lips, but she suppressed it, cocking her head coyly at the rambunctious operative. "What seems to be the problem, Numbuh 1?"

"Two of my operatives seem to be missing. I'm wondering if they are a counted for at Moonbase," Nigel raised his eyebrow. "In actuality, it seems that a lot of the female operatives have gone missing back on Earth as well."

Rachel played along, now leaning forward with a teasing smile. "Numbuhs 3 and 5 are missing?"

"Actually, it's Numbuh 3 and Numbuh 4," Nigel admitted, smiling just as much as Rachel was, which wasn't much. "Numbuh 5 is present as usual."

Figures. Abby was too tomboyish to be swooned by something like the Necklace of Candy-Ann, named after the female operative who retrieved the necklace from the Spoiled Brat from Three Floors Down. She secretly wished she had as great of a resolve as Numbuh 5 did.

"I saw Numbuh 3 here," Rachel said. "But I didn't see Wally anywhere as of yet…of course, he's quite the short dude…he might've been swallowed up by the mob?"

Nigel furrowed his eyebrows. "I beg your pardon?"

Rachel blinked. "What, you didn't know?" She grinned. "It's the day of the Candy-Ann."

"Oh…oh!" He sounded surprised, but Rachel knew better. Something was up. "Why aren't you at the proceedings, then?"

It was her turn to raise the infamous eyebrow. "The same reason why Abby didn't go. It's not my thing."

Strange enough, he looked disappointed. "Well are you going to watch it?"

"I was until you messaged me," Rachel answered guiltily. "We both know how things go out of hand on this day."

"Yeah, nothing beats an ocean of girls fighting for one thing…" He looked thoughtful. "Especially the jealous ones once a name has been chosen."

They both shared worried glances. That was always the worst part.

"It's most likely over now," Rachel smiled slightly. "I'm gonna check the monitor."

Nigel nodded as he was put on transmission hold and she was greeted with an angry mob screaming "that's not fair!" and "redraw! REDRAW!". The usual after-ceremony bickering.

"Who won…?" Rachel wondered aloud as the yells escalated. She didn't see the winner gleefully run up to wear the precious necklace as per usual. Did something happen?

Numbuh 24k was jumping up and down childishly, yelling for order so he can speak. "SHUDDUP! SHUDDUP ALL YOU BRATS!" He was then pelted with open fire from all sides.

He angrily wiped a bit of egg from his face. "I hate this day! I HATE IT! You are all unworthy to wear the Necklace of Candy-Ann! You are all BRATTY GIRLS!" He was attacked again by enemy fire.

"For gum's sake!" Numbuh 10 righted herself up as she tried to pull herself from the enraged crowd to return to the camera. "Someone _ELSE_ cover this event next time!" She yelled hotly. Rachel surmised that she wasn't the winner due to her indignant tone. "The lucky girl who gets to wear the infamous Necklace of Candy-Ann has been announced and, as usual, no one likes the outcome." She swatted a bit of disheveled hair from her face. She straightened regally and finally caught her breath.

"Will Numbuh 362 please report to the docks to receive the prize?"

Rachel laughed. The winner has got to be the unluckiest girl in the world! She'll have the whole female population after her now!

….

…wait.

"Computer, rewind ten seconds ago."

"Rewinding…" the computer monotonously answered, replaying Numbuh 10's last words.

"Will Numbuh 362 please report to the docks to receive the prize?"

"Will Numbuh 362 please report to the docks…"

"Will Numbuh 362 please report…"

"Numbuh 362…"

"362…"

"362…"

She blinked. That can't be right…that's HER codename. Unless someone from the KND Title Office changed the roster…?

She turned to her desk in a futile attempt to see if there was any paperwork that stated the said name change. After a minute of throwing files and folders around, she panicked.

No, nothing. It must be somewhere!

During her temporary insanity to find an imaginary file about an imaginary name change, the monitor continued to beep and there was only one person on line two.

She distractedly turned on the transmission while searching. "Sorry Numbuh 1, but I'm busy right now. Can you call at another—"

"You won!" He can hear the lilting tone in his voice that made her frantic movements stop. "You actually won, Rachel!'

"No I didn't," She retorted back. "They must've changed my code number recently."

Nigel stared at her as if she grew a second head. "They don't reuse numbers until after decommissioning, Rachel. Oh, I get it," He smirked. "You're in denial."

"Am not." She argued. Though she knew she was only delaying the inevitable, she just couldn't believe it. Out of three hundred names…!

The door to her office was blown off the hinges and she jumped, her spy reflexes taking over as she gracefully jumped over her desk to hide, much to Nigel's amusement.

"Awright, ye chikin! Imma comin' for ye!" Fanny blew smoke from her F.O.S.S.E.Y. with a flourish.

Rachel shakily looked up from her desk. "Now, now, Numbuh 86, as your superior officer, I order you to stand down at once!"

Fanny gave her the 'ye think Imma gonna listen to ye stoopid boy?!' stare and found herself flanked by Numbuh 24k and surprisingly, Numbuh 3.

"Rachel! You're gonna look so pretty with the necklace on!" Kuki chirped happily. "I'm so jealous!" She pulled out a frilly blue-green dress from her bag.

Numbuh 362 looked at it in horror. "You can't expect me to wear that, Numbuh 3?!"

"You don't think that you'd wear such a beautiful piece of jewelry on top of that horrid outfit of yours, do you?" 24k wrinkled up his nose at her blue and orange number.

Rachel folded her arms stubbornly. No one ever talks about her wardrobe like that. Ever. "I humbly revoke my prized winnings graciously to the next participant chosen." When they looked at her in confusion at her elaborate vocabulary, she irritably dumbed it down for them.

"Let runner-up wear the stupid trinket!"

There was sharp silence. And then...

"How dare you slander a piece of KND history!" 24k cried out.

"Dunna be such e' spoil-spoat!" Fanny retorted waving her weapon threateningly.

"Can I wear it then?!" Kuki asked excitedly.

They all said this at once and Rachel was almost sure that they'll cause enough ruckus to lure in more disgruntled people into her office. That, or Nigel's tenor laugh ringing through her ears.

She had almost forgotten about him for a second.

Fanny nudged her weapon briskly, indicating that she move her butt away from the safety of her desk. She obliged reluctantly.

"I really, really, _REALLY_ hate this tradition." Rachel muttered to herself as Kuki sized her up for the dress. Fanny sported a devil's smile as the weapon poked Rachel in the back.

"Les' move on out!" Numbuh 86 chirped as all three of them began to shove her out the door.

"We'll see you later, Mr. Screen who looks like Numbuh 1!" Kuki waved back at Nigel's amused expression. "I'll take really good pictures for you just like you asked!"

It was then that Rachel started to add two and two together. "Wait! You were in on this?! Did you cheat the ballot, Numbuh 1?! Answer me! That's an order!"

But her cries went unanswered as she was dragged out of her office to dress up for the day.

Nigel stared at the empty room and gave a broad smirk.

"You'd be surprised with what you can do with an Australian prankster and a Japanese sneak, Numbuh 362."

And with that, he signed off.

**End Transmission**

_Next Prompt: Virtual_


	2. Prompt 2: Virtual

Disclaimer: I don't own KND. Duh.

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**Rating: T**

**Genre: Suspense/Mystery**

_Prompt 2: Virtual_

Sunlight hit her face, which she found odd. Her thoughts were still jumbled up as her consciousness stemmed between the waking world and dream, her sharp mind deduced that the possibility of sunlight reaching her room was scarce. Her room was in the west wing, not the east like Harvey's.

And if it _was_ possible for sunlight to reach her room, it'd be shielded by the thick, expensive Norwegian curtains her grandmother bought to accentuate her large bedroom. Only the maids upon ordered would open them.

She groaned, too groggy to get up to close it without waking herself fully up and grabbed her overstuffed French Nouveau pillows over head to rid of the light, only realizing that it was small, cheap and cotton-like.

That didn't make sense.

Realizing that the scent and textures of her bed were all wrong, she snapped her eyes open and flung herself upright, only to wince at the cascade of sunlight hitting her face and felt light-headed due to the vertigo of going upright too fast. Squinting from the bright light, she contemplated her surroundings.

This wasn't her room.

First of all, it was small. Very small. Almost like Fanny's room when she last visited her Irish friend.

There were no thick, Norwegian curtains. Flimsy, light blue cotton curtains covered the small windows and her expansive balcony was nowhere in sight.

Her redwood furniture collection that her dad bought for her tenth birthday have seemingly vanished as well, replaced by mismatched drawers and fairy lamps. Her huge KND bulletin board that was hanging over her study desk was gone. Random crayon drawn pictures and letters littered the entire wall.

But what really mortified her was how clean it was.

Her room was NEVER clean.

She looked of someone in the utmost calm externally, but inside she was panicking. This wasn't her room, far from it.

Jumping out of bed, she turned and stared at the flower patterns of the fabric and the nature like design of the bedpost.

Nothing in here looked sophisticated. It looked like a normal girl's room.

A knock sounded from the door next to her and she jumped under the bed to search for her 2x4 weapon. Nothing was under there.

"Rachel?" A gentle, female voice cheerily called on the other side of the door. "Are you up, sleepy head?"

Rachel stared disbelievingly at the door. That voice was familiar. "Mom?"

Impossible. Her mom wasn't a morning person and not a chipper one at that. The rare time she was moving about in the morning was her trying to nurse a hangover concoction after a night of expensive partying.

The door opened and Rachel gawked at the sight. It was indeed her mother, only healthier, more alive and happy. Her dirty blond hair was pulled back into a pleat with simple earrings and a kind smile. She was possibly even more beautiful with a bit of lipstick and blush against her normal mom's caked on look. She even wore an apron.

"Stop staring like you've never seen your mother before, Rachel," Rachel's mom walked toward her and tugged on her daughter's pajamas playfully. "Brush your teeth and get ready for breakfast! It'll get cold!"

"You cooked breakfast?" Rachel stared disbelievingly at her 'mother'. This didn't make sense at all.

Her mom laughed. "Well who else is going to make breakfast? Santa Claus?" She gently shoved Rachel out the bedroom and into the hallway. "Bathroom, young lady!"

She planted a quick kiss on top of Rachel's golden tresses and walked down stairs, taking off her apron halfway down.

Rachel stared as her mom left, wondering what just happened.

_'This has to be a dream,'_ Rachel thought. _'This isn't my house!'_

It's not a mansion. It was a small house. She's supposed to live in a mansion, with maids, butlers, cooks and gardeners. She hasn't seen a maid at all so far.

Cleaning herself up in the very small bathroom, she returned to her 'room' to change, only to find the bed neatly made with a pair of well worn jeans and a modest green blouse.

"I wonder if I tumbled through a trap door and discovered my Other Mother," Rachel wondered aloud, tugging the blouse over her head.

She headed downstairs and easily found the small kitchen, where she saw a familiar boy already eating through his eggs.

A plan formed in her head and she smirked, sneaking up behind her brother and laying a hand on his shoulder.

He flinched. Same old Harvey.

Except she didn't expect her brother to jump up off his seat to _hug_ her.

"Morning, sis!" Harvey grinned, the exact opposite expression that Rachel's currently sporting.

"Uh, hey Harvey…" Rachel stammered as her Other Mother hushed her into a seat where a plate full of eggs, bacon and toast with a side of fruit greeted her. Harvey jumped back around in his seat to continue eating.

So, there was an Other Mother and an Other Brother, but where was her Other Father?

"Where's dad?" Rachel asked while experimentally poking the food with her fork. Rule number six as a former KND spy states not to eat anything you're not too sure isn't full of toothpaste by tricky adults. And she certainly didn't trust her Other Mother if the myth was true.

Other Mother looked up from doing the dishes. "You know your Father works mornings, Sweety."

That's news to her. Her real father always ate breakfast with her and Harvey. This was like Opposite Land.

Still confused over all this, she finished her breakfast and retreated to her room, Harvey following behind her like a lost puppy.

She stopped and turned to look at his cheerful face, very unlike her Harvey.

"Don't you have business to attend to?" She poked him on the chest. No freak out. So very strange.

Harvey cocked his head to the side. "What?"

"You know, KND business," Rachel scolded. "Don't you have a Sector to take care of? Get to it or I'll demote your sorry butt!"

Her Other Brother raised an eyebrow. "What's KND? And what's a Sector?"

"Quit fooling around, Numbuh 363," she scoffed. "It's not funny. Not one bit."

Harvey looked genuinely confused. "Why are you saying weird things? Why are you calling me a number?"

Rachel shook her head and climbed back downstairs, hoping to find a phone.

She'd call Fanny and tell her of this strange situation. Rachel wondered why she isn't as freaked out as she thought she would. But being a KND operative, weird things happening were the norm for them.

Fanny's number was well memorized in her head. If there was anyone she could count on, it was she.

The line rang for about a few seconds when a familiar Scottish accent invaded her hearing.

_"Aye, what is it that ye want?"_

"Fanny," Rachel breathed happily. "I'm glad I got you! Listen, something really strange is going on---!"

_"Who is this?" _Fanny demanded.

Rachel fell silent for a second. "It's me, Rachel. You know, your Supreme Leader Numbuh 362?"

_"I dunna know no 'Rachel'," _Fanny's voice sneered through the line. _"An' I dunna hav' no 'Supreme Leadah' eitha'! Mah dad's a rich an' powerful businessman an' he coul' run ye dumb prank callas to da ground!"_

The blond operative balked at the answer. "Fanny please," she begged. "You're my best friend! We work for each other on Moonbase!"

_"Yer spoutin' nonsense!"_ The Irish redhead snarled. _"I ain't got no best friend an' I dunna work on no Moonbase! Dunna call again!"_

"Fanny, no! Don't hang u--!" The line went dead.

Rachel started to shake, the phone still placed on her ear as the fact that Fanny doesn't know her sunk in.

Guess it's not paradise after all.

* * *

She didn't want to believe it. It had to be a dream!

Returning to her room, she furiously looked for any evidence belonging to the Kids Next Door, but it was unsuccessful.

There was still one more place to look though, and she hopefully turned toward the closet.

Practically ripping the sickly sweet closet door open, she dived into it searching for the escape pod to Moonbase.

She fished through the random stuffed animals and other useless junk, hands frantically patting down the floor, looking for the trapdoor.

It was all carpet.

"No," She chanted brokenly. "No, no, no, no, NO!" She banged her fists onto the floor where the trapdoor was supposed to lie and let out a strangled cry.

"This is a dream, this is a BAD dream!" Rachel muttered. She flopped herself onto the bed, trying vainly to fall asleep.

If she goes to sleep, she'll wake up from this dream. It was common sense.

Another knock on the door.

She flipped with her back to the door and tried to ignore it. She was in pain. KND seemed to not even exist…!

"Rachel, you're going to sleep again?" Her Other Mother walked in. Rachel could hear china clink on a tray.

"I'm not hungry…'_Mom_'…" It sounded foreign to her tongue. Her mother never took care of her. She left that to the nannies.

She could hear the tray set on the desk and the side of the bed dipping. A warm hand was placed on her forehead.

"Are you not feeling well, Sweety?" Rachel could feel unwarranted tears form in her eyes at the worried sound of the Other Mother's voice. Her real mother would have never cared.

Rachel instinctively curled close to herself, unfamiliar to a mother's touch. "I just want to take a nap is all, Mom."

A small silence filled the room. "Okay," the Other Mother whispered kindly. "If you need anything---anything at all, you just yell okay? I'll be right downstairs."

The preteen nodded her head quickly, confused by this Mother's kindness. She felt a warm pair of lips brush the side of her head and the bed no longer dipped.

"I love you, Rachel."

Rachel choked back a sob. "Love you too…Mom."

The room was finally empty except for her and she was surprised at the tears that started leaking from out of nowhere as sleep finally claimed her.

Why couldn't her real mother be just like this?

* * *

She was roused awake by slight taps on her window, as if someone was throwing rocks at it. She opened her eyes quickly and realized that she was still in the same room.

This was not her home.

The hits against the window continued, prompting Rachel to jump off of bed and reach it, throwing the shutter up.

Popping her head out the window she glared at the culprit only to find her heart suddenly lodged into her throat.

"…Nigel…?" No, it couldn't be him. This boy wasn't bald, nor wearing his trademark sunglasses. He had a full head of chestnut brown hair, which was swept into the coolest hairstyle she had ever seen any boy sporting. But she recognized that face anywhere. Those storm gray eyes were a dead giveaway.

He had his hands stuffed into his gray hoodie jacket soberly, but his smile remained there, carefree and still rambunctious.

"I've been calling you all day!" Nigel's smile turned into a smirk. "I think your mom's sick of me leaving messages on the home phone. She said that you weren't feeling well.'

His British accent was still there and well familiar. Rachel warmed at something that remained constant in whatever world she was in now.

"I…um—was just taking a nap is all," she stammered back. "What are you doing here in Ohio? You live in Virginia."

Nigel raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "Yikes, you must not really be feeling well, Rachel. I've lived in Ohio for _years_."

"Oh." Figures. She should have expected another strange answer.

The brown haired boy chuckled at her and began to jump on the branch to reach her window.

"What are you doing?!" Rachel squeaked as Nigel managed to maneuver his way expertly to her window. She stepped back as he jumped into her room with ease.

He playfully tugged on a bit of her blond hair. "Can't a guy come over to hang with his girl?"

Rachel's mouth was agape at his words. His girl? He doesn't mean…"Wha..?"

Nigel brushed some stray leaves off of his jacket and leaned forward, causing Rachel to lean back instinctively. "Can't. A. Guy…." He pointed to himself. "Come. Over. To. Hang. With…" He then lifted Rachel's shell-shocked chin up slightly, his voice a little deeper this time. "…_His. Girl_…?"

It wasn't until two minutes later did Rachel realize that she just experienced her first kiss with the most reckless Sector Commander in the entire KND Global Command.

And she _ACTUALLY_ liked it.

* * *

_'This a dream,'_ Rachel thought. _'that I don't want to wake up from.'_

They were laying on the bed horizontally, Rachel on one end and Nigel on the opposite so their heads rested side by side to each other, sharing an mp3 with headphones on.

She turned her head slightly to see her 'boyfriend' dozing and smiled.

_'Real dad would kill him if he saw this,'_ She internally laughed._ 'I wonder how the Other Father reacts…'_

Aside from that, it almost seems like paradise. There doesn't seem to be any adult tyranny from the looks of it and maybe that's why the KND didn't exist in this world. Everyone lived in peace.

Her mother was sweet and motherly for once and Harvey was not scarred from being touched and Nigel…she had Nigel. It was strange, but she can see the advantages of the relationship.

For once in her life, she didn't have to grow-up so quickly like in her old world. She can finally breathe for once and let go.

She can finally be a kid.

And almost immediately, she started to forget. She forgot the KND and the fight against adult tyranny. She forgot her mentally scarred brother and her neglectful mother because they were truly whole now.

She forgot everything that she was the moment she let go.

* * *

Rachel could see Nigel open his eyes and she smirked.

"Quite the dozer, aren't you?"

Nigel looked confused for a second, getting up to check his surroundings. Rachel got up worriedly as well and watched as his face turned stern and serious. She flinched when his gray eyes grew dark as he stared at her.

Why did that look familiar?

"Rachel…" He breathed, grabbing her arms and shaking her slightly. "Is that really you?"

"Yeah…?" She tentatively answered, scared at the sudden change in his personality. "What's wrong?"

Nigel ignored her and pressed on. "Do you remember your codename?"

She didn't understand. "I don't…?"

"I've come to find you from the other side," Nigel proclaimed urgently. "I am Numbuh 1 of Sector V."

It sounded familiar…the numbers and the sectors, but she couldn't remember. There was a faint nagging in the back of her head, but she couldn't place it.

"No," She said, though she felt that it wasn't really her saying it. "I don't know what you are talking about, Nigel. Please leave. You are scaring me."

Nigel shook his head and his grip on her tightened. "I don't have much time here, Rachel. You need to wake up. WE need you."

_'Who needs me? I'm not needed,'_ Rachel thought. _'Everything's okay here…'_

"This isn't real," Nigel pressed on. "You are important to us on the other side. The REAL world needs you. Thousands of kids are depending on you!"

"Thousands of kids…?" She repeated bleakly. What was it she did that thousands of kids are depending on?

Nigel doubled over, his head in his hands. "I don't have much longer here," He gasped out as Rachel tried to help him up. "Numbuh 2 said that the rewiring of the headband is still unstable and it'll give out at anytime…Rachel," He stared at her, desperation evident in his eyes. "I believe in your ability to fight it. You are our leader for a reason, Numbuh 362…!" He hissed as the headband shocked him. He screamed.

"Wake up!"

* * *

Rachel woke up with a start, her body shivering from the dream. Mom came by with breakfast.

And then everything moved like a dream.

_Harvey showed her the new train set he constructed later that day._

_Her father stopped by to hand her her allowance and then left for work._

_Nigel took her by the creek to explore the greenery._

_Mom and her went back-to-school shopping._

And then she started to see visions.

**She saw herself wearing a get-up and writing up paperwork in a pseudo-constructed workroom with hamsters relaying letters through intersections of hamster tubes.**

**Weapons constructed out of everyday objects…objects accessible to kids.**

**She walked down decks with overhead windows portraying space in all its glory.**

**She saw elaborated treehouses that brought adult military bases to shame.**

**Her mom was nursing some whiskey.**

**Her brother howling when he is touched.**

**Her father priding himself for his overachieving daughter.**

**And thousands of children who depended on her.**

It was too much.

* * *

Rachel hid herself in the closet that night, curling on a certain part of the floor she doesn't remember having any special meaning for.

"I'm…" she hoarsely whispered at nothing.

No, it wasn't about her. It was always about them.

Those who needed help when teens would steal their bikes.

Those who were unhappy by adults who lived to make their lives miserable.

Those who decided to fight back, but are too young to know how to lead.

They needed someone to help them lead. To fight for children everywhere.

"We are…" she opened her eyes gently, realization setting in.

Her name was Rachel McKenzie, but it was so much more. She led her friends to victory, she helped those who needed it.

She was an operative belonging to a global wide children organization designed to fight adult tyranny.

She was a number in the entire collective. She was number _362_ out of a zillion children out there.

She was number _362_.

**_Numbuh 362._**

Rachel remembered her best friend, Fanny, who was the boy-fearing Global Tactical Officer and her right-handed operative. Patton, a Drill Sergeant for Arctic Base. Her old treehouse sector. But she lived on the moon now.

_Moonbase was the main headquarters of…?_

_Nigel was Numbuh 1 of Sector V and all the sectors belonged to…_

What was Numbuh 1's words?

For the first time in what she felt was her whole life, she smiled. The legendary book which held the infamous five words. She can hear her friends asking her the answer to a question she in her soul should know.

_"We are…?"_

_**"We are Kids Next Door."**_ She answered clearly. Rachel stood up from inside the closet and yelled those words as clear as day triumphantly.

"WE ARE KIDS NEXT DOOR!"

She knew. She knew who she was and knew her place in the world. She may have negative aspects in her life, but it came with the good too and that was the KND.

It was her home, her escape and her path to the greater good of children everywhere.

_She was needed._

The Kids Next Door needed their Supreme Leader.

And then she remembered how she got where she is.

_She remembered Harvey upsetting the new nanny in their estate and she called on that Chester villain to use his Happy Headband technology to placate him. She fought for him and ended up captured as well._

**She was in Chester's virtual reality.** She saw red.

"GET. ME. OUT. OF. THIS. NIGHTMARE. NOW!" She bellowed as she threw herself against the small closet, knocking her head against the side wall as she frantically slammed around over and over. If her theory was correct….!

* * *

Her eyes snapped open and she found herself in a tube, something thin and round wrapped around her head was sparking and shortening out.

Rachel hissed as she pulled the shocking mechanism off of her head and used her knowledge as a KND former spy to take in her surroundings.

Chester's Lab, by the looks of it, and sounds of a huge ruckus beyond the lone door.

_'KND Reinforcements must have arrived.'_ Rachel thought as she climbed out of the tube. She discovered Harvey not too far away with a similar headband on his head as well. She carefully detached him from it.

"Chester's gonna pay." Rachel growled as she dropped her younger brother in a safe distance. She grabbed her weapons lying on a metal table and kicked open the door, feeling a sense of great vindication when she saw Sectors V and O kicking the can out of Chester and his goons.

Numbuh 1, in all his bald and shades glory, expertly flipped through the air and dealt a blast of ketchup at Chester's face as he landed gracefully next to her. This was the Nigel Uno she knew. This was absolutely _right_.

"Welcome back, Commander," Nigel smirked. She smiled back, aiming her gun upwards as two of the goons decided that it was a good idea to attack them. "Did you have a good dream?"

She looked determined, but her smile remained in place.

"There is no dream that can beat what's real."

No place like home.

**End Transmission**

_Next Prompt: Magazine_


	3. Prompt 3: Magazine

Disclaimer: Nope.

* * *

**Genre: Humor/General**

**Rating: K**

_Prompt 3: Magazine_

Rachel had barely just arrived on Moonbase for her daily Supreme Leader duties when Numbuh 86 was waiting by the docks, looking quite peeved.

The blond leader closed her eyes and rolled her shoulders, anticipating another impending disaster and walked up to Fanny, her face completely neutral.

"Something the matter, Numbuh 86?"

The red headed tyrant looked up, a tic barely seen on her left eye. She studied her good friend and superior officer quietly before answering.

"Aye, Supreme Leadah. Dere's a huge mob in front of yer office." She relayed.

Rachel looked at her neutrally. "There's…a _mob_?"

Fanny nodded solemnly.

"…In front of my office?" Rachel dryly repeated back the memo. Fanny nodded once again. "And why is that, Numbuh 86?"

Numbuh 86 gave a hapless shrug. "Dunno. Somethin' abou' a "strike"."

"A strike?" Rachel meekly echoed. "Who's doing the strike in front of my office?"

"A couple o' morons from da News Office," Fanny responded. "Dey say dat dey dunna get paid enough ta work on da _Global KND Inquirer_. I tol' dem, 'Ye are all a buncha sods! Da Supreme Leadah won' pay anotha cent o' da Budget for sum stoopid gossip paypa!', an…" She shrunk down a bit at Rachel's inquisitive gaze. "…Now dey are striking outside yer office."

"Ah," Rachel dryly noted. "So it's _your_ fault they are striking in front of my office."

Though Fanny looked visibly guilty at the accusation, she was right in the fact that Rachel would not have considered raising the ice cream pay for a couple of columnists who write for the _INQUIRER_ of all printed news. It's a completely different story when all you write is gossip for kicks. Most of them weren't even true to start with.

Now, if they were a legit magazine with facts and evidence like the _KND Daily News_ or the _2x4 Tech Monthly_, she'd consider a pay raise. But not for gossip, for cheese sakes!

How counterproductive. And before the late lunch too…

She sighed. "I'll take care of this."

Fanny visibly lightened. Rachel knew that it was every child's favorite sentence when it came to problems they didn't want to deal with. Only the ancient KND leaders know how many times she's said it throughout her time as Leader.

Grabbing her bag, she took a deep breath and cleared her head. Rachel-time is over.

Supreme Leader Numbuh 362 has now clocked in for the day.

* * *

Picket signs and marching covered the observation deck to her office and chants of "No chocolate, no gossip!" and "Writers on strike!" echoed throughout the place.

Numbuh 362 was already bombarded on the way over by operatives left and right begging her to help sign some documents for new weapons clearance and a new order shipment of grape soda to be sent in for the annual KND Cadet Graduation. And don't get her started on the entire movie multiplex being overflowed by a renegade popcorn machine.

Her nerves were completely frazzled by the time she reached her office.

The strikers caught visual of their Supreme Leader and their chants grew louder, this time marching toward her with purpose in their steps.

But she wasn't going to be intimidated by a bunch of brats whining about ice cream and stood her ground, shoulders up and arms folded, her expression one of condescending.

"I don't appreciate the lot of you parading in front of my office," She coldly announced. "It's a hamster hazard."

They stopped their march; some looking quite afraid that they ignited the irritable Supreme Leader to the point where she'd send them to Numbuh 86 for dishonorable decommissioning. The least afraid looked at each other in worry.

Only one operative stepped forward, the bravest of them all.

"I'm the lead editor of the_ Global KND Inquirer_," the twelve-year-old operative answered. "I'm Numbuh 528."

Only her finger tapped against her folded arms betrayed her internal irritation. "And you're causing a ruckus in front of my office for some ice cream?"

"The other offices have a slightly significant higher payroll than us," He admitted lightly. "We just want to be treated fairly."

While Rachel could see his point, Numbuh 362 had a more intelligent reason to deny this. "You write gossip columns," She answered darkly. "The others actually _work_ for the truth in their articles. You're lucky you get paid at all for coming up with things so frivolously from the top of your heads."

Numbuh 528 only shrugged. "Regardless, plenty of operatives DO read our material. They will not be pleased if we don't send in this monthly issue. And we won't until we are given a higher salary."

Rachel shook her head. "Sorry, but it's not a good enough reason. Our quarterly budget has already been swiped off the top pending new lab instruments to the 2x4 Science Laboratories. And I already have other sectors on a large waiting list hoping their projects don't get slashed off the already strained budget. The _Inquirer_ is not top priority."

Groans and angry moans echoed the mob. She continued.

"That is my final verdict. You can protest all you want, but I'm not raising the budget for your sakes and you should be glad I'm not pulling the plug on your columns in the first place," Rachel's stare proved sufficient enough. "I'm going to go back to work now. There are other important people here that require my presence. Get going."

"We will not send in the monthly issue," 528 demanded. "Not until you give us a pay raise."

The Supreme Leader's already solid glare ripped a path open for her through the mob. She raised her head coolly.

"It's not my problem. I don't even read the silly thing." And with that, she gracefully entered her office and slammed it shut.

* * *

Because children have short attention spans, the mob dispersed after thirty minutes of chanting and marching outside her door. Not that she cared. She had too many things to do before the end of her shift.

When word got out that the Supreme Leader refused to approve the budget and had delayed the monthly issue of the _Inquirer_, a hailstorm of complaints came through to her inbox, pressuring her to submit to the striker's demands so they can read whether or not the Yeti was really seen in Florida.

She quit telling them to sod off professionally after the first ten letters and deleted her video inbox with subjects containing: 'bring back the _Inquirer'_, 'finish the strike' and 'you are a heartless leader'. None of them even remotely realize how thin the line she works with has been drawn by the Treasury already. She already got yelled at for considering raising the hamsters' living space in the base for more work efficiency. Can't someone just give her a darn bone for once? She's doing the best she can with what she's got!

New transmission buzzed. She opened the link impatiently. "What now?!"

"Sorry to bother you." She deflated. It was Nigel.

She rubbed her eyes as her temper slowly ebbed away. It wasn't fair of her to yell at him for no apparent reason. "Sorry. Overworked."

Nigel scratched his bald head awkwardly through the monitor. "So I've heard. You've raised quite a storm of angry operatives today."

"I don't care," She mumbled, numbly tossing a folder of complaints off her desk into her Rainbow Monkey trash bin. "We don't have the proper budget to appeal to the strike's demands. If they wanna complain, they should parade down to the Budget Department instead."

"The life of a Supreme Leader," Nigel smiled helpfully. "It isn't all a bed of roses."

"You're telling me," She murmured in agreement. She looked up at him curiously. "How bad is it?"

"That's what I came to tell you about," His tone changed dramatically. He was Numbuh 1 again. "The operatives aren't the only ones who were fans of the _Inquirer_."

Rachel stared at the screen in confusion. "Pardon?"

"Father's gone mental. Intel stated that it was his favorite magazine subscription," Numbuh 1 responded. "And once he finds out that you're the reason why the gossip column got cancelled, we'll be in hot water."

All Numbuh 362 can do was look up at her ceiling thoughtfully. "How…ironic."

She hated her life.

* * *

Nigel relayed to her that if Father didn't receive his subscription, he'd go after their treehouse and as of yesterday morning, Numbuh 1 and 2 installed a new defense system into it and had it rebooted. They'll be unprotected for one more day.

With one of her sectors in danger, even _she_ needed to bypass protocol to help them. Unfortunately the Budget committee was full of cranky operative mega-nerds with a pension for spreadsheets and she didn't have enough time to compile the necessary evidence needed to approve of the _Inquirer_ team's pay raise. Not to mention, they refused to form an emergency meeting when **Doctor Time Space and the Continuum** was about to air.

She had six hours for the new issue of the _Inquirer_ to fall on Father's lap or Sector V's treehouse was doomed. Numbuh 528 wasn't budging either, even as she relayed how important it was to do so.

With no other option, she turned to her only two true allies who can help her. She contacted Patton in Arctic Base with Fanny flanking her from behind.

Transmission was connected and one of Patton's subordinates answered in attention.

"This is Drill Sergeant Numbuh 60's office!" The cadet shouted. "How may I help you, Supreme Leader?!"

"At ease, Cadet," Rachel said gently. "Is Numbuh 60 on the premises?"

"One moment sir." The two girls watched as the cadet disappeared from screen, most likely searching for his superior officer's whereabouts.

Rachel blinked at the quite empty roster sitting on Patton's desk. "Not many cadets this year, huh Fanny?"

"Aye," Fanny nodded a bit gravely. "Not many good candidates dis time aroun', sir. Numbuh 60's bin complainin' abou' havin' nothin' ta do these days. Spends most o' his time trainin' wit' a few cadets willin' to go on a survival hunt on da weekends," She wrinkled her nose. "Rest are a buncha' wimps."

If there was any evidence in her words that Fanny did not ever insult Patton despite the fact that he's a boy, Rachel didn't voice it. Though a hint of a smile would have gave her thoughts away if anybody were a mind reader.

Then again, she and Patton were the only cadets back then who willingly wanted Fanny to remain in the KND, if it was any consolation. The Irish tyrant may not show it on the outside, but she was fiercely loyal to those she deemed worthy of her respect. Patton was certainly one of those people.

They heard a large door slam and a snow-trodden Drill Sergeant appeared on screen, shaking bits of ice from the dark locks that managed to escape from his beanie.

"Afternoon, Numbuh 362. Numbuh 86," He greeted in attention. Rachel didn't bother correcting his formalities. He was more comfortable in a professional setting than a private one at any rate. "What can I do for you?"

"We're in a bit of a bind, Patton," Rachel answered. "Sector V's treehouse is under maintenance and Father's planning on attacking it unless we appeal to his demands."

The stern operative looked perplexed at this news. "Sector V's never had a problem dealing with Father before. Why ask Moonbase for assistance now?"

Fanny looked somewhere else, still guilty of her actions earlier. Rachel waved it off.

"Father's super mad this time," She appealed. "And some of it's my fault." As Patton raised his eyebrows in surprise at the response, Fanny stared at her blankly.

"Lass, it was mah fault," Fanny corrected sheepishly. "Ah got de stoopid strika's riled up wen I said dat Supreme Leadah wouldn'ta bothered wit dere stoopid pay raise an now dey won't release da new issue o' da _Global KND Inquirah_ until da Supreme Leadah does so."

Patton was still confused over this new information. "So what does this have to do with Father?"

"Father's a subscriber of the magazine." Both girls replied in a deadpan jinx.

Realization dawned on Patton's face in five seconds. "Oh. Okay, what are your orders, sir?"

Rachel smiled. Good ol' Patton. Work first, ask questions later. "I figured that since you're not as tied up these days on Base as usual, you'd help us pick up some stories."

"Stories?" Patton blinked.

"Fer da _Inquirah_," Fanny cleared up with a surprisingly patient tone. "We're ah gunna release eet ourselves."

Patton rubbed the beanie over his head uncomfortably. "Are we allowed to do that?"

"Technically, all journalistic rights belong to the KND Publishing Office," Rachel elaborated. "They gave us the go ahead. Just because the writers are on strike doesn't mean that the magazine title is on hiatus. So long as someone's writing it, it'll get published accordingly. And these kids are too inexperienced to understand what a Union is to fully manipulate it to their advantages."

"So, you want us to find some make-believe mumbo-jumbo, write it up, and publish it in the _Global_ _KND_ _Inquirer_?" He crossed his arms and closed his eyes, obviously thinking hard.

Fanny mirrored Patton's movements. "At least until da budget committee deals with da stoopid strike, we'll hav one month to settle dat."

"Exactly," Rachel concluded.

"I can write about anything?" A small smirk played across his contemplative face.

"I am giving you the order of going where no kid has gone before with a gossip column." Rachel agreed with a smirk.

"Are ye gunna do eet or are we gunna hav to mangle ye?" Fanny leaned forward on the screen, now clearly impatient.

Patton's smirk grew ten sizes that day.

* * *

Five hours pass and Rachel and Fanny were sprawled around the office, looking through pages and typing. She was in charge on adult gossip while Fanny worked through the teens. Patton covered the kids.

"Wha' do ye think o' dis?" Fanny brandished a newly written page above her head. "_Some boy teens still play with action figures secretly in their rooms._"

Rachel smirked. "That's a good one. How about this? _There are some adults out there that enjoy cartoons just as much as kids. There are even a few who are proud of this quirk._"

Fanny roared with laughter. "Aye, dat's completely hilarious! But wha's a 'quirk'?"

"…maybe I should change that." Rachel erased the word and replaced it with 'fact'.

"I've got three articles done on the Lochness Monster," Patton answered through the monitor, his own office in shambles. "What say you, Little Miss Irish?"

"I say eet's definitely real," Fanny retorted proudly. "I've _SEEN_ eet!"

"You're such a liar!" Patton rebutted.

Numbuh 86 grinned mischievously. "Am I?"

Numbuh 60 shared a staring match with 86 before complying. He groaned. "Now you're just confusing me!"

"This is kinda fun," Rachel smiled at their antics. "Way better than boring old paperwork!"

"Aye, ah can see why dey spend so much time writin' nonsense den writin' da news," Fanny admitted. "I've written more reports abou' teen romance dan mah own final decommissionin' reports an' dose are mah favorite!"

Patton gave a shrug. "Sure beats training cadets. Not as awesome as survival training, but close enough."

Rachel looked at her watch. "Okay, we've got one hour to compile this, make ten-thousand copies and hand one to Father." She gathered her articles. "Patton, you'll need to send yours via hamster express."

"You got it." Patton saluted and the transmission ended.

The Supreme Leader set herself on her feet and stuffed her and Fanny's articles into a folder. "Let's head to publishing office." Fanny nodded resolutely.

"We've got a deadline to meet."

* * *

The rendezvous with Father was accomplished. Rachel had been sent down with Fanny in tow to present the latest issue with Sector V watching over the proceedings, making sure that the temporary truce remained in effect.

Returning to Moonbase, Rachel was surrounded by readers who complimented the issue, much to her surprise.

"_Sir, the article on the 'secret kissing behind the candy cart' was awesome!"_

"_Is it true that teen boys don't REALLY wear a bra?!"_

"_Does Grandma Stuffums really have over a buhzillion cats in her closet alone?!"_

"_Will you write more?!"_

"I guess the _Inquirer_ really was quite popular…" Rachel admitted to a distraught Fanny as a dozen boys desperately asked for the red head's autograph.

"Eet wasn' as populah as dis!" Fanny growled at the male offenders. "Back off, ye stoopid boys, or ah clock ye in da 'ead!"

"Well duuuuuhhhh!" Numbuh 65.3 popped out of nowhere, nearly startling Rachel. "This issue is a buhzillion times better than the other issues! First of all, it's not written in stupid crayon!" He held up a previous issue, which had a crude drawing of the _Inquirer_ title page. "Second, this new issue is organized according to gender, events and KND to adults. The old _Inquirer_ just threw everything at random!"

Rachel smacked her head. And yet the writers asked for a pay raise? "Unbelievable."

As much fun as it was, her path wasn't in journalism. She will just have to press for that stupid raise just so people can stop hounding THEM to write it instead.

Before she had the chance to high tail it and run towards the safety of her office, the _Inquirer_ writers and Numbuh 528 stopped her in her tracks.

"Okay," He begged. "So you made a better issue than us, but we've changed our minds. We don't want the raise!" The others nodded fervently. "Just don't take away our jobs!"

Oh, how the tables have turned. She smiled genially.

"Tell you what," She started. "You try to match up the same quality as what Numbuh 86, 60 and I did and you might just get that pay raise." She raised her hand toward him. "Is that a deal?"

Numbuh 528 wasted no time in shaking her hand. "Okay, sir! You got it!"

"Dat's all fine an' dandy!" Fanny snarled shoving two operatives away at once. "But get dese stoopid ankle biters off of meh! I'm neva writin' a cruddy article eva again!"

Rachel sternly nodded at Fanny's plight, but on the inside she was laughing.

* * *

Meanwhile in Father's mansion, the Delightful Children from Down the Lane watch in puzzlement as their "father" was curled up on his favorite plush chair, laughing whole-heartedly at the magazine comfortably on his lap.

Tears formed in his eyes. "Oh, dear Grandfather! The Toilenator is harboring a secret crush for Nurse Claiborne? Ha ha ha! This is the best issue ever!" He may despise the flim-flammy Kids Next Door, but he had to give them credit for originality!

The Supreme Leader of the Kids Next Door will be even more surprised the next day when she finds a bunch of flowers and a thank you card from Father himself.

**End Transmission**

_Next Prompt: Multilingual_


	4. Bonus Prompt: Breakfast

A/N: Dedicated to Tracy-Ann who said her prompt word was "breakfast".

* * *

**Genre: Family/Drama**

**Rating: T**

Bonus Prompt: _Breakfast_

Harvey squinted at his eggs, appearing to be in deep thought.

"Stop having a staring contest with your eggs and eat them," Rachel scolded from across the vast kitchen, grabbing a steaming mug of hot chocolate from the family cook. "Sonia lied. You can't really tell the future by reading food."

Numbuh 363 finally looked up at his older sister, his mouth pressed into a deep frown. "Can too!" His sister raised an eyebrow. "And, you'll be _so_ jealous that I have a special talent that you don't!"

"You already do," She answered dryly. "And that's being thoroughly annoying."

He blew a giant raspberry in her direction, but she ignored it in favor of reading a leftover report she had taken from her office last night.

Not taking the bait as usual, Harvey huffed onto his seat. "How can you be the Supreme Leader of a kids' organization if you act exactly _like_ an adult?"

"There's a subtle difference between being an adult and being a responsible child," Rachel refuted without skipping a beat. She barely even looked up from the report. "As an adult, you are given independence and rights and must live with your choices on your own. As I am currently still a minor living with my parents, I am not permitted to have these privileges until I am of age," She took a conscious sip of her chocolate. "But, I am well-educated for my age and because I understand a bit more adult concepts than most children, it's easy to mistake my character being like that of an adult than just being slightly more mature."

"Blah, blah, blah!" Harvey cleaned his ear with his pinky for emphasis. "Whatever."

"You asked." She merely retorted as the cook came by with her plate of eggs and toast.

Someone stumbled into the kitchen clumsily and both children barely batted an eye at the disruption. The culprit's stunning silk robes were askew and her hair was tangled as if she fell asleep in her once elaborate hairstyle.

"Morning, Mother." They both answered nonchalantly, Rachel more so than Harvey.

Rachel barely looked anything like her mother, who had blond hair that was almost brown and had slightly visible freckles. If anything, Harvey looked the closest like her.

But she will concede that she inherited her mother's stern tone of voice, her thick locks of hair and graceful movements, the latter with which was advantageous to her former job as an espionage agent for the KND. She even had her mother's brown eyes, of course minus the diluted look to it that her mother was currently sporting.

Their mother groaned as she reached the kitchen counter and laid her dizzy head on the expensive, cool porcelain. "Ugh…Thyra, darling, medicine please." Despite her slovenly behavior, her voice was still a rich, deep tenor of an aristocrat.

"It's Rachel." Her daughter reminded conversationally, jumping off of her seat to search through the vitamin cabinet. Harvey snickered.

Her mother moaned heavily on the counter. "Don't be a smart mouth. That _is_ your name."

"Thyra is my _middle_ name," Rachel placated slowly as if she was talking to a child. "It's uncommon for people to be referred to by their middle name."

Taking her mother's silence being as verbal defeat, Rachel meticulously pulled out the Aspirin and a glass of water from the fridge, handing it silently to her mother. She popped the pill without drinking the water and sat at the table, dropping her head into her arms.

The blond girl returned to her eggs as if nothing happened and her brother did the same until their father stepped in, Armani suit and all.

"Smells good…Kristolph, how about a plate for me?" He yelled cheerfully for the cook. The cook answered with his request in Russian and returned into the industrial part of the kitchen for said breakfast.

Rachel deviated a lot of genetic traits from her father than her mother. She inherited his golden hair color and strong personality. She had his nose, his mouth and his ears as well. They even had the same talent in musical instruments. Quite possibly the only thing Harvey inherited from his father was his stubbornness, gender and green eyes.

Their father circled the large table, ruffling Harvey's hair to his vehement distaste and planting the usual morning kiss on Rachel's hair. "Morning kids."

"Morning Dad." They answered back. Mom didn't answer.

"How's the Peterson case, Dad?" Rachel asked, uplifting the conversation expectedly.

Dad thanked the cook when he was handed his coffee and continued. "Brutal. And Valdessecchi isn't a good enough witness for the defense," He took a cautious sip of the hot liquid. "He's blind as a bat."

Rachel closed her eyes to mull the information over, tapping her cup in rhythm. She scrunched up her nose. "They want a blind man as a key witness?!"

"That's what _I_ said!" He answered, quite annoyed by the subject. "They think I'm some kind of miracle worker, Mother Maria….Oh, _gracias_, Mikael!" He exclaimed as the gardener dropped by to hand him his daily newspaper.

Her dad was always polite with the help. It showed a good judge of character. He had taught her that every person should be treated with humanity, be it your superior or your subordinate. She tried to reflect this concept when she led her operatives on Moonbase.

"There may be one saving grace for your case," Rachel regarded her father seriously. "How's the witness' sonar?"

Her father's mouth then began to slowly upturn into a huge grin and he laughed heartily. Harvey made his usual confused face when he didn't understand a joke.

"That's about enough about work. We're putting the poor boy off!" His laughter slowly ceased as the cook placed a delicious heap of bacon and eggs in front of him. "What are you kids up to these days?" Rachel shrugged indifferently and Harvey pouted. "Still in that Kids Across the Street clubhouse thing?"

"It's Kids Next Door!" Harvey corrected gruffly. "And I'm an awesome sector leader who leads my team to success against adult tyranny!"

Rachel snorted into her hot chocolate. Her brother glared at her.

A rumble reminiscent of a groan reverberated off the table and all three of the occupants looked at their hung-over mother.

"So, there you are," Their father noted dispassionately at his disheveled wife. "It's a rare sight to see you up so early in the morning to attend breakfast with us. Congrats."

Her mother had enough strength to lift her head up off the table and glare at him darkly. "Blow it out your—"

"—Eat your fruit, Harvey," Rachel simply said, pushing a small plate of chopped multi-colored melons in her brother's direction. "It's good for you."

He stuck his tongue out at it. "I don't wanna!"

"Eat it or I'll cut your mission roster out by 70%," She warned.

"What does that mean?" He demanded back.

"It means you'll be chasing the Toiletnator for three months straight if you don't eat all your fruit, Numbuh 363," Rachel stared at him hard. "That's an order, cadet."

Grumbling, he wisely grabbed the plate roughly and started stuffing as much as he could into his mouth. Rachel leaned back in her chair in satisfaction. Her father mirrored her actions, but in a different perspective. He looked at their mother in disapproval.

"See this? You should be doing your job as a mother and not let Rachel do it for you," He tossed the newspaper in exasperation as his wife snorted irritably in response. "You go out all night partying while I'm working and you leave the kids alone--!"

"You act like they're left all alone in the house!" She snarled back, no longer caring how much her head hurt by doing so. "They have nannies. What the heck is the point of hiring them if we can't use them when we leave the kids alone?"

"Your logic is twisted, woman," He stood up abruptly. "We only have nannies when we _both_ have justifiable obligations, like work; not just me working and you partying."

Their mother stood up as well. "I'm not going to stay here and take this abuse! I can't even stay with my kids for five minutes without you hounding me!"

"Five minutes?! It'd be a dang miracle if you stayed sober for two!" Their father's volume in his voice raised slightly, his Eastern accent grabbing the reins at last.

While they continued to argue, Rachel backed out of the table and picked up the school bags against the wall, signaling Harvey. "Time for school, Harvey."

Her little brother picked up on the memo and took his bag from her. He winced when she straightened his uniform tie, making sure that she didn't touch any part of him. "I hate private school!"

"Deal with it." She answered back, admiring her handiwork before attempting to smooth out the nonexistent wrinkles from her own skirt.

They both walked out of the huge front doors of the mansion and Rachel allowed Harvey to whistle for the chaperone this time, which would bring in the limo shortly.

Staring ahead out into the garden, despite the fact that they can still hear their parents arguing loudly, they remained silent until the car arrived.

As the car pulled in, Harvey turned to his older sister and stared at her. When she met his gaze, she saw for a second a hint of what Harvey was really feeling.

It was weariness.

The expression was then out like a light.

"So…" He put his arms over his head and swayed on his feet, trying to look disinterested. "KND work after school?"

Rachel faced away and smirked half-heartedly. "Have we ever deterred from our daily schedule before, Numbuh 363?"

Harvey's returning smirk was a little broader.

"Excellent."

**End Transmission**

_Next Prompt: Multilingual_


	5. Prompt 4: Multilingual

Disclaimer: Hey-oh!

* * *

**Genre: Humor/Adventure**

**Rated: K**

_Prompt 4: Multilingual_

Rachel found herself slightly shivering in the medical biotech lab, which was located deep under Moonbase. The lead ER team was as (if not more) as knowledgeable about the importance of sanitary procedures as she was. Hospitals were cold and sterile for a reason and while it is usually uncomfortable for patients, the two traits were best able to combat risking the spreading of said illness and keep it from cultivating.

She and two operative hamster caretakers were asked to be present by the lead doctor, Numbuh 102, who was flanked by two female nurses.

He pulled up his clipboard as they stood up and regarded them seriously.

"That's the fortieth case this week alone," Numbuh 102 read his clipboard gravely, his sharp Indian accent reverberating off the empty walls. "And we don't know what's ailing them."

Before Rachel could open her mouth to respond, one of the hamster caretakers erupted into tears.

"What are we going to do?!" She wept out loud. "The poor hamsters!"

Numbuh 362 folded her arms, waiting for her weeping to subside. "Three treehouse sectors are on quarantine. And my Global Tactical Officer already sent out word that this could be contagious to all sectors within the vicinity of the exposure…"

The Indian doctor sighed in aggravation and flipped a page over. "Symptoms include upset stomach, vomiting and constipation so far. My team and I are expecting more as we keep them under supervision."

Rachel tapped her chin thoughtfully. "That all reads into an intestinal or gastric complications, right?"

"That, or some sort of strange stomach flu that just won't go away," He added. "Right now, all the infected hamsters can only stomach water and a bit of broth. Anything else seems to irritate the infection."

The Supreme Leader took deep breaths through her nose as she tried to contemplate her next move. She wondered if she would have to make an official announcement of this condition to all hamster-powered operation personnel and cease all hamster messaging until further notice. That way, if it _is_ contagious, there's a good chance it won't spread to other sectors.

"Thanks, doctor," She nodded. "If you'll excuse me, I'll need send a quarantine out so no other hamsters become infected."

He nodded. "Also, I would like to investigate the contaminated sectors to see if we can find the source of this problem."

"I'll send the hazmat team over to you by the afternoon," Rachel replied while mentally noting it in her head. "You can discuss the formalities with them."

"Very good. I will have my nurses keep you updated if anything new comes up." And with the sentence hanging glumly in the air, he purposefully turned on his heel and retreated back into the ER.

Rachel stepped onto the lift, eyeing the worried cadets left behind. "You'd do well as to check on the hamsters here on Moonbase. I don't want to hear that any of my boys have caught the sickness. Understood?"

They both saluted, the girl sniffling slightly as she murmured a 'sir!'.

* * *

As a blast of warm air evacuated into the lift on the main deck as she exited out, she felt as if someone was watching her amongst the bustling hub of cadets doing Zero-knows-what.

It made the hairs in the back of her neck stand on end.

She shivered slightly to be rid of it and forced her mind back on the case. There were sick hamsters that were depending on them to cure them. She refused to let them down.

"Someone get me an open com-link!" She yelled at the operatives working the communication panel on the Global Deck. "This is a code-red emergency! I need all operatives on Earth to be present in each treehouse for an important announcement!"

"Be ready in ten minutes, sir!" Cried a male operative on the main booth.

"I want it in five!" She answered back. "I want every operative from Arctic to Moonbase to hear this. Understood?"

"Yes sir!" The group exclaimed, working furiously to their Leader's demands.

Numbuh 362 sat on her Supreme Leader throne, which overlooked most of the levels on Base. She set in a stern face as her team called different treehouses, issuing them a code-red alert.

"Psssst!" A sharp sound issued from behind her. She jumped in alarm and swiveled in her seat.

"What in the---?" She saw a nerdy looking kid with glasses, who held a strange device that resembled word machine toy in his hands. "Who are you?!" She demanded.

He straightened from his crouch. "I am Numbuh 26 and I work for the Engineering department in the 2x4 Labs."

"What do you want?" She cut sternly to the chase. She didn't have time to humor anyone.

Numbuh 26 raised the device up. "I have designed a new invention that can translate a very important language!" His voice turned into a whisper. "It's a 'Hamster Translator!'."

Rachel stared at him, clearly unimpressed. "So?"

"So?!" He gaped at her. "It's the future of KND communications! You can talk to hamsters! Well, it does have some kinks to it," He shook it a bit as it started to spark. "I need a budget to expand on this."

"Is that so?" She dryly remarked. "You came to me looking for a way to patent the invention?" He vigorously nodded. "Request denied."

He visibly sputtered. "B-b-but why?!"

"Because I know that you took it to the director of the 2x4 Lab department and they denied it," She answered simply. "Or else you wouldn't go out of your way to get an approval from me. You are not authorized clearance for a budget if your department denies it."

"They don't understand!" He defended hotly. "This invention can help us!"

"I don't think—"

"Just a small budget, please!" He begged. "I've been stuck in Engineering for so long and this is something that's important to me! Please, just try it out for yourself and decide! Just a small bit, so I can fix it up properly---!"

One of the communications operatives approached the throne. "Supreme Leader, all operatives are on standby! You are cleared for the global com-link!"

She nodded, jumping out of the throne and straightened her helmet. She turned to Numbuh 26. "If you think it's so important, re-appeal to your department. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an important announcement to say." She hailed security to keep Numbuh 26 at bay as he tried to go after her.

Approaching the com-link, the computer announced that the global communications are now on-line and transmission opened.

"This is Supreme Leader Numbuh 362 with an announcement for all operatives of the Kids Next Door," She announced sharply. "There has been an epidemic that is affecting hamsters when they come in contact with it. If you don't understand what an 'epidemic' is, it is a sickness that spreads through contact. Sectors in Central America, Western Europe and Southeast Asia have been placed under quarantine. All sectors stationed around these parts must keep the hamster workers in their treehouses under lockdown until further notice. All others must enlist their decided hamster coordinator teammate to diagnose and check on their sector's hamsters. If there are any known sicknesses from them, please report to Moonbase immediately and schedule a mandatory treehouse lockdown. Also, hamster messaging will be temporarily shut down until further notice. Any messages needed to be sent must be sent via transmission through the treehouse computer."

Rachel could feel the tension mount in the air in her own base and she knew that something similar was happening on Earth too. She tried to remain as calm as possible.

"We are unable to discover the source of this problem, but rest assured that we are working around the clock to find the cure. It does not affect us but the hamsters so do not deter from helping them if they are sick. You have your orders," She concluded. "Moonbase, out."

The com-link ended the transmission, but Rachel still felt on edge. She hoped the hazmat team she was going to send down to Numbuh 102 will have better luck at finding it than they can.

* * *

Rachel nearly went into a tearful nervous breakdown.

Her personal messenger hamster, Chloe, didn't wake up. When she returned to her office to write up the appropriate paperwork for the hazmat team approval, she discovered Chloe lying on her side in the corner of her cage; unmoving.

At first she thought that Chloe had died and fought the urge to scream in horror at the sight. It wasn't until she forced herself to look closer and check did she realize that her hamster was still breathing.

Swallowing the cold knot in her throat, she tried not to cry as she scooped the small white mammal in her arms and ran as fast as she could to the ER, screaming for help halfway there.

As the nurses took Chloe to sickbay, Numbuh 102 had to sedate the hysterical Supreme Leader with two hard shots of chocolate ice cream. Rachel felt like fainting from the stress of this problem and absolute worry for her hamster. If there was one thing that could easily unhinge her over the edge, it would be any of her loved ones taken from her by force.

Sitting by Chloe's small bedside, she called Fanny to call in the hazmat team instead, opting to stay by her loyal pet and contemplate her next move. She hoped that the team would find the source of the problem soon…

"Supreme Leader Numbuh 362!" A voice called by the door.

Rachel recognized it and bared her teeth, growling slightly in irritation. "Numbuh 26, I don't have time for your invention problems!"

Numbuh 26 would not be deterred. "I can help."

"No you can't," She covered her mouth with her hand, trying vainly to think of something…anything she can do to fix this problem. "And neither can I." She never felt so helpless before in her life. She had no solution, no explanation.

No success.

He pushed forward, sitting opposite of his Supreme Leader on the small bio-bed. She refused to acknowledge him as she continued to stare off into space, the gears in her head whirring at a rapid pace. No solution was made present in her head and she gritted her teeth.

She could hear Numbuh 26 shuffling around and then a small, squeaky voice cut through the still air.

"I don't feel so good," It said, it's voice groggy and sickly sounding.

Rachel snapped her head up at the unfamiliar sound. "Wha…?"

Numbuh 26 had a makeshift microphone near Chloe, his invention whirring contentedly on the side table. "Okay," He said into the microphone. "Can you tell us when you got sick?" The machine then started to emit a chattering sound, reminiscent of a hamster's. Rachel stared at them silently in absolute disbelief.

Chloe groaned as the microphone was placed right next to her. "I ate something good," She squeaked out through the machine. "Keri give some to me and now I don't feel good."

Something started to grow in Rachel's belly, one of hope and desperation of a break-through to this problem. She beamed at Numbuh 26.

"You're a genius!" She exclaimed, uncaring of his bashful reaction. "Ask Chloe about what she ate!"

Nodding fervently, he pulled the microphone back up to his face. "What did you eat that made you so sick?"

The ritual continued. "Keri said that it was a special piece of cheese. She gave it to all her friends." Chloe gloomily answered back.

"We need to find Keri!" Numbuh 362, now revitalized by this new turn of events, grabbed the surprised Numbuh 26 and headed toward the doctor's office. "Numbuh 102! We have a break-through!"

* * *

The search was extensive. After they interviewed an equally sick Keri, the little black fuzzball claimed that she got it from Tom and it branched out between Buzzer and Penny, which also branched out from there.

Near to exhaustion as they interviewed all the available hamsters in the ER (which bordered between three hundred and five hundred), they discovered that the cheese originated from a Sector in Southeastern Asia and Numbuh 102 applied the hazmat team into the area to look for any type of cheese in the treehouses there.

Rachel paced on the Bridge, waiting for a com-link from the hazmat team for any new potential leads. It was a contaminated piece of cheese that spread through contact, so where did it come from?

Numbuh 26 sat a little ways off, tinkering with his invention. Apparently it was slightly overheating due to its extensive use. He was actually surprised that it worked for a long length of time without short-circuiting. Yelping in alarm, he jumped up as the machine caught fire and tried to put it out with his paper boat hat.

"Supreme Leader, transmission received from the Special Ops Hazmat team!" One of the communication officers piped up from the far left.

She swiftly jumped back onto her throne. "Put it on screen, Numbuh 825."

"Yes sir!"

The multiscreens became one and Numbuh 776 was visible. "Sir, we found the contaminated cheese from Sector HU and traced it to the resident adult villain, the Pangit Flu," He flipped through his notes and straightened his bright yellow hazard mask. "The hamsters there must've mistaken the confiscated evidence as edible food, hence the illness spreading."

"Very good, Numbuh 776," Rachel answered. "Send samples over to the Medical department on Moonbase so 102 can devise the antidote."

"Yes sir," He nodded. "Special Ops Hazmat team, out!" Transmission ended and Rachel let out the breath she didn't know she was holding in since this morning.

* * *

Numbuh 26 teetered nervously in front of his superior officer's office. It had been a stressful three days so far since the antidote was finally created and administrated amongst all the ill hamsters on Moonbase. The code-red was only officially called off yesterday with the whole KND officers thoroughly relieved.

Numbuh 362 had called him in through her Tactical Officer, Numbuh 86, and she suggested that the Supreme Leader was going to 'give eet ta him'. He gulped, fearing the worst, and knocked on the door.

The computer alarm sounded. "Supreme Leader Numbuh 362 is currently unavailable for any appointments. Please state your Numbuh and try again later."

His shaking slowly ceased and he breathed. His superior was busy, so she may not chew him out for now. "Uh…I'm Numbuh 26 and I was called---"

"Access granted," The computer answered. "Entry allowed." The door slid open.

What he initially imagined was the stern Numbuh 362 sitting on a high chair and writing paperwork with a semi-permanent frown on her features. She would look at him, her expression unchanged and politely claim that now that his usefulness was over, he was to return to Engineering department, something that he despised. He loved languages and he wanted to learn more of it. That was why he created his device in the first place…

But he was shockingly surprised to see the direct opposite. His leader was sitting comfortably cross-legged in her seat, nursing Chloe with a bit of lettuce between her fingers. Her smile was minute, but the warm expression in her eyes told millions.

She acknowledged his presence immediately and her smile widened a bit. "Good afternoon, Numbuh 26."

He lightened up considerably from the soft tone of voice. "Numbuh 86 said that you requested me?"

"I did," She nodded in agreement, setting Chloe back into her cage and straightened up, languidly pulling up some papers from a folder. "I have requested your withdrawal from the Engineering department."

He gulped. "Uh…why?"

"And you'll receive a high commendation for your invention," She continued. "And have your name placed in the KND Notable Operatives plaque down by the Cafeteria." Dropping the papers, she folded her hands neatly. "Any questions?"

Numbuh 26 tugged a bit on his collar. "Why are you withdrawing me from Engineering?"

Rachel tapped her pen against her desk a little bit impatiently. "Well, you can't suggest that you can work in one department and lead the other one at the same time!"

"What?" He spluttered.

"I've approved of your invention," Rachel answered as a matter-of-factly. "And the 2x4 department has approved of the new Linguistics Sub-Division which you are now the new director of."

Numbuh 26 could only gape at her, his eyes wider than saucers. "Wha-wha?"

Her smile grew a bit more. Perhaps she should've said it a bit more clearly.

"Your _budget_," She emphasized slowly. "Request approved."

**End Transmission**

**

* * *

Notes:  
**

-Numbuh 102 is a play on the emergency phone number in India, which is '102'.

-Numbuh 26 is equal to the amount of letters in the alphabet.

-Numbuh 776 when punched in on the phone spells 'PSN', which is used to simplify the word, 'poison'.

-Pangit Flu is Tagalog for the 'Ugly Flu'. Tagalog is a native language in the Philippines, which is geologically placed in Southeastern Asia.

_Next Prompt: Event_


	6. Prompt 5: Event

A/N: Long prompt is loooooooong!!!

* * *

**Rating: K**

**Genre: Humor/Adventure**

_Prompt 5: Event_

Normally, Moonbase was quite subdued on Mondays which was understandable. Mondays were hated universally with both kids and adults alike. It was a haunting symbol of the end of a carefree weekend and a sharp reminder of a full work week ahead of them. For kids, it was school. For adults, it was work.

But today was a special day. This was something that all KND operatives around the world could bypass because of the week it pertained.

It was the annual KND physicals.

Pro-athlete and Anti-geek, this event demonstrated and tested the physical capacities of all operatives to see if they are in top physical condition for missions and if not, they were sent back to the Arctic Base for optimal remedial training.

And there was no worse grueling remedial class on the face of the universe like Drill Sergeant Patton Drilvosky's remedial class. When he says you'd be at optimal performance at the end of the month or die trying, he promised it.

And that's why today was bustling with operatives, some already wearing their school's PE clothes and timing each other on the jump-ropes and other bouts of physical activities.

They did NOT want to visit Patton when they failed. No one did.

Despite the fact that they were doing so on unauthorized places like the cafeteria and if their bravery permitted (or being just desperate), their Supreme Leader's most sacred place of working which was the Bridge, their renowned leader had not reprimand them on that fact.

She was too busy panicking down in the overcrowded training room on the other side of the Base, working overtime on a 2x4 made treadmill.

_'I'm not making good time,'_ She gritted her teeth at the thought as she ran a more faster. _'These numbers can't be right!'_

Rachel was slower than others. She humbly admitted it. While she may excel at other things like gymnastics, appropriate weight lifting and balance work, she was abysmal at long-distance running. Her former work resume had not asked for that particular quirk and everything else she was good at leaned favorably towards spy detail.

After the first three minutes of sprinting, she'd lose her breath and struggle. She wondered if her lungs weren't strong enough to handle such a feat. It discouraged her from trying previously.

A year ago, she made the quota just barely. But now, she was no where near it.

All that desk work made her soft. No wonder the other bureaucrats were now scrambling for cover.

She really didn't want to do it, but out of sheer self-envy, she looked to her side and watched as Fanny continuously run for twenty minutes straight without breaking a sweat. She was a bloody gazelle!

Of course, as a former head of decommissioning, she needed to endure a lot of running since operatives who want to escape tend to _run_. But did Fanny really need to rub it in by passing the quota mark _ten minutes ago_?

Fanny took the shining moment to look right back at her best friend, a lively expression on her face that was the complete opposite to Rachel's tired, disheveled spirit.

"Aye...Lass, how're...ye...doing...?" She breathed out evenly, keeping in time with her run.

Rachel wasn't so lucky. She stumbled a bit as she answered. "Not....too...." She gave a shuddering breath. "....well—?!" She tripped, causing her body to be thrown backwards off the treadmill and right onto her back. Only Fanny noticed. People were much too busy to care.

Fanny immediately turned off her treadmill and gracefully jumped over Rachel's to turn it off. She then proceeded to hover over her Supreme Leader, who refused to get up. "Ye alrigh'?"

Rachel caught a few lungful breaths and sighed. "I'm gonna fail the test..." She raised her head a bit up from her sprawling. "How'd I do?"

The redhead scratched the tip her nose awkwardly as she proceeded to check the monitor on her Supreme Leader's treadmill. She then gave the blond a bit of a smile. "Not bad at all."

"Really?"

"No," She admitted blankly. "Not really." She patted the treadmill sympathetically. "I think da treadmill got'ta bi' o' a workout more than ye did."

"Thanks," Rachel noted dryly. "I'm _so_ relieved that the treadmill was able to pass the quota before me."

Numbuh 86 shrugged in sympathy. "I cannat balance a beam ta save mah life. Ye make eet look easy."

Rachel got up and dusted herself off, looking as if she was ready for her inevitable fate in remedial course. "You just needed to walk across most of it in less than two minutes. You past that just fine before."

Fanny merely shrugged and watched in worry as her friend proceeded to rub her aching legs. "Keep tryin' an if ye haf ta take da stoopid class, I'm sure Numbuh 60 will go easy on ye," She scrunched up her nose in distaste. "E' is quite fond of ye."

"I doubt it. Patton is a guy that sticks to his principles to a T," Rachel pointed out as she and Fanny grabbed a couple of bottles of water and took a good rest in the corner of the room. "Favoritism was never in his character reference sheet. Not that I wanted it to be anyways. I want things fair and square in my organization." She pulled the scrunchie keeping her hair up out and fixed it back up again, trying to look presentable for once today.

Fanny took another swig of her bottle. "Maybe ye can ask 'im ta train ye for da week? Da runnin' physical ain't comin' up until next Friday." This piqued Rachel's attention and she paused in mid-twirl of fixing her hair.

"You think he could?" Rachel wondered. "He may be busy as well with his own cadets training for the physical..."

Fanny took a deeper swig of her drink. "I'm sure he'd let ye join his squad fer practice."

"Sounds like an early call to join the remedial class anyways." Rachel watched as a small operative got trapped in the stuffed animal weights and Fanny laughed.

Finishing off the last of her bottle, Fanny tossed it into the waste bin. _Across the room. _"One week is betta den a _whole_ month."

She did have a good point.

* * *

"ATTENTION!!!" A menacingly looking preteen stared down at the cadets who were prompt into immediate attention. "So! All you sniveling little weak-tots think you can just come in here and expect to pass my emergency training course with ease, is that IT?!"

"SIR, NO SIR!" They screamed out in respectable terror. One of the cadets were shivering.

Famous Drill Sergeant Patton Drilovsky surveyed the rows with a critical eye. He shouldn't have too much trouble with this bunch if they joined willingly. He nearly snapped with the last bunch of cadets who thought they were superior enough to ignore his words and almost get eaten by Yetis. They sure changed their colors afterward.

"This is not a Rainbow Monkey tea party," He started his speech with a stern tone and an icy glare. "This is not a video game palooza and it CERTAINLY isn't a Yipper Game Tournament. You are here to train, work and above all, LEARN. Do you read me?!"

"Sir, yes sir!" The chant was sharp and it rang pleasantly in Patton's ears.

"Now we are on the same level!" He remarked triumphantly as he paced the long rows of cadets. "You are different than the pushovers back on Moonbase who are training by themselves. Why? Because you have good judgment, that's why!" He stopped in front of a helmet-hidden female cadet that twitched in what he couldn't mistakenly presume as irritation.

"You have a problem with my words, cadet?!" Patton growled at her, but she didn't shrink away or falter. Nor did she heave her chest up in arrogance. She remained still in subdued respect. He liked that.

"Sir, no sir!" Her voice echoed.

Patton surveyed her closely. "Then why don't you tell your fellow cadets the reason why you had the GUTS to defy me?!!"

She stood a bit straighter and Patton regarded it with indifference. "I work on Moonbase, SIR."

"Is that so?" His voice bordered on a teasing whisper. Satisfied with her answer, he gave her a sturdy pat on the shoulder. "Give my regards to Numbuh 362...if you _ever_ get back there."

"Sir, yes sir!" She yelled out as Patton walked away, continuing his speech.

"AS I WAS SAYING!" His voice rose an octave higher to command their undivided attention. "I will tell you why you chose right to train in my group in comparison to doing it on your own. And I WILL tell you why," He clasped his hands behind his back and straightened. "Because while they _might_ pass the Annual Physical, you may rest assured that under my lead, you _will_."

A triumphant air among the cadets followed. "I will not rest and neither will any of you until every single one of you pansies are in top, optimal, high and every superior word in the English language, peaked physical condition for said Physical. But it will not be a cakewalk, no sir!" He whistled for an overhead map to come down from the once decadent metallic room and withdrew his stick, slapping at the map with it.

"We will climb the treacherous Mountains of Sheer Will," He pointed his stick at a drawn description of a pair of mountains. "You will train in endurance and strength lifting. We will maneuver our way through the Caverns of Eternal Ice and dig our way out!" The stick moved to a drawn cavern with an intricate network of ice drawn underneath it. "Precision and balance will be taught there! And of course, we will run five miles across the harsh, Arctic landscape where Yetis run abound in the open landscape! We have affectionately called it the Track of the Yeti," He scraped the stick towards a thin line drawn with Yetis waiting in the wings. "Speed, balanced endurance and time will be drilled into you so bad, you'll be dreaming of this trial for weeks!"

The triumphant air depleted out like a blown to pieces balloon and small twitches of resignation was found in his vision. "Any questions? No? Okay then." Some of the cadets tentatively tried to raise their hands, but he ignored them.

"Head to the barracks! We've got a big day tomorrow scaling the mountains. We get going at 0500 hours, that's five in the morning for you uneducated brats!" He looked at the now worried cadets with an internal sigh. He hoped that none of them would start crying like the last bunch...

"You are DISMISSED." He yelled and the crowd dispersed, hurriedly running to the bunkers before their Drill Sergeant would start yelling at them again.

He waited silently on the spot as they started to leave, his eyes trained a little too long on the back of the covered female cadet who interrupted him earlier as she followed the masses obediently.

* * *

The scramble to attention at five went as smoothly as it usually went when children were involved. Most went kicking and screaming with their friends down from the barracks, only to stumble upon Patton's disapproved expression. Only that would settle them down.

Surprisingly, only too few didn't put up a ruckus, among those included the female cadet who stood as disciplined as yesterday, standing in complete attention.

He'll never have a problem with her, that's for sure.

As soon as everyone stood in attention, he commanded them out into the bitter Arctic air, their extensive outerwear and mountain climbing equipment the only formidable opponent against the cold. It was a good sign that a blizzard had not commenced this morning as it usually did.

They reached the base of the mountains in three hours by foot and they built up camp for a break before they attempted to tackle the obstacle that awaited them.

Numbuh 60 watched with an intense curiosity at the subdued female cadet as she had built up a fire faster than the others, which had illicit an awe and a crowding around her camp in order to get warm. She didn't push and shove like the others for the heat, instead opting to hang back and wait for her turn, her eyes completely hidden by her cadet helmet.

She was entirely familiar to him. And it bothered him.

As the crowd dispersed when all the fires around camp were finally lit up to avoid an immense crowding, he approached the mysterious cadet as she gracefully returned to her camp, sitting in front of the fire and stretched languidly, as if she had done this before. When she saw him approaching, she stood up to attention.

"At ease, cadet," He raised his hand a bit, motioning her to sit back down. She did so immediately. "What's your code number, cadet?"

The cadet cocked her head to the side before answering. "I am unable to answer that request, sir. You are given a code number when you graduate from the Academy, sir."

"I am aware of the formalities, cadet," He sternly replied. "What I am _not_ aware of, though, is why an operative must disguise herself as a cadet in order to join my emergency training."

She seemed contemplative enough to let the cat out of the bag. "Was it really that obvious?"

"Not even Numbuh 1, who is quite the dutiful and professional leader, were as tolerant as a cadet as you are," He surmised his suspicion. "Only an operative who is well-knowledgeable to how I command before hand would act like you do, Supreme Leader."

A small smile escaped around the corners of the cadet's mouth. "Nothing gets past you, Patton."

He folded his arms, his hard expression softening at once toward his beloved friend. "Your pension for disguises has not been unused for long," He admitted. "You really had me going there. I was unsure if it was you or my mind was acting up."

Staring at the still hidden Numbuh 362, he asked another question that plagued his mind. "Operatives are allowed to join this particular training. Why have you taken the liberties of disguising yourself as a cadet?" His brow furrowed even more at another thought that ran through his head. "Were you embarrassed of training alongside other cadets?"

"Negative." She answered.

"Then why?"

"It was an attempt to..." She became quiet when a cadet passed by close enough to hear them. She finished after the cadet moved out of earshot. "...avoid the appearance of favoritism."

He raised his eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"I am not undermining how you work with your followers, but others may not be on the same page as us," She cleared her throat. "I want you to train me just as hard as any other cadet without the others complaining that you are favoring the Supreme Leader even if you aren't."

He still felt a bit miffed. "You could have at least told me in advance."

She smiled a little more broadly this time. "I wanted to make it fun for you."

Patton rolled his eyes and turned away, his stern tone returning. "Get your gear ready. The first two obstacles might be a cakewalk for you, but I know you'll have the long-distance obstacle working against you. Start building up your stamina, cadet."

Rachel fought the urge to stick her tongue out at his retreating back. She should have never told her friends her weaknesses.

* * *

As Numbuh 60 predicted, Rachel was fluent in the art of upper body strength, having used it immensely in her training as a spy for the KND. She surpassed ahead of the first group as they climbed their way towards the first checkpoint.

Of course Patton was, if not more, proficient at mountain climbing than any other cadet in the group. He had done this hundreds of times, being at ease with this obstacle as riding a bicycle. Rachel was only lumbering behind by a few feet behind him.

There was a scream from behind him and he snapped his head down out of instinct, wondering who was the unlucky soul who needed his assistance and, if it was the cadet's fault, a stern yelling. He looked down and saw the culprit of the scream belonging to some random female cadet from far below, pointing excitedly upwards. Searching for the source of the pointing, he saw Rachel dangling below, her suspension rope having snapped.

Her only leverage was her holding onto a crevice above her.

"Rachel!" He yelled. "Hold on!" He was about to unclasp the harness when he found laughter coming from the distressed 'cadet'.

_'She's gone insane from terror!' _Was Patton's only thought as he looked down again and saw Rachel waving him off, about to climb with her bare gloves and boots the natural way.

"I'll grab ya on the way up!" She encouraged, finding a crevice to grab a hold of and pull herself up even more.

He allowed her to continue, trying to keep his heart from beating frantically in terror as she slowly pulled herself upwards, a few meters away from the first checkpoint. He stayed where he was, waiting for her to reach close enough to climb up him instead.

It was only when he felt her gloved hand close around his ankle did he let out a huge breath of air, relieved that she made it up without any accidents. He patiently held firm as she slowly climbed her way up and used his shoulder to hop onto the huge ledge that was big enough to be called a Checkpoint.

Patton shook his head as she reappeared over the ledge, a small grin on her features. Always with her did he get put into dangerous situations.

"It's been a while since I did anything that exciting! Coming up, Drill Sergeant, sir?" She asked against the mountain wind blowing against the ice. She outstretched a hand towards him.

He rolled his eyes the second time that day and grabbed it.

* * *

They made it up all the way up the mountain in a few hours. For experienced adults in the art of extreme mountain climbing, it would seem like a small cliff to them. For kids, however, it was equivalent to Mount Everest for them.

The air was constant, but slightly thinner so the cadets were almost too exhausted to set up camp before going back down in the morning. Some even bothered to force themselves to just build up their tent and climb in without supper or heat from the fire, opting to sleep instead.

Patton, Rachel and five other cadets were strong enough to hold base while the others slept, having started the fires and cooking some microwavable lunches for everyone once they felt too hungry to sleep.

As Rachel prepared by poking the fire some more, (she wasn't quite the cook anyways), she felt a warm blanket wrap around her shoulders, providing more warmth against the cold air that was now getting worse.

She turned to see her chivalrous hero. "I told you not to show favoritism around me, Numbuh 60."

Patton shrugged and joined her by the fire, pulling out a tray and standing it near the fire. "You gave your spare to that little runt, Johnny what's-his-name?"

"Jimmy." She corrected.

"Yeah, Jimmy," He echoed. "Quite the small kid. He sure had trouble climbing up the mountain."

Rachel shrugged, wrapping the blanket around herself even tighter. "I guess." Patton knew what she was really thinking.

"I'll be fine without it," He reassured his friend. "I've done this a buhzillion times with even more lack of equipment."

Rachel shook her head in disapproval. "You need to stop testing yourself by trying to push yourself to the limit," She pointed out smartly. "But I know you'll just ignore my words. I'm just letting you know in advance that I told you so."

Patton snorted. "Always thinking ahead, Rachel."

She smirked. "Somebody has to."

"Point taken."

Two cadets moved toward their camp, saluting their Drill Sergeant. "Sir! Some have woken up from their naps. Shall we commence dinner?"

"At ease, cadets," He waved them down. "Go on ahead. But everyone needs to sleep in 0—ah, whatever, eight o' clock tonight. We've got a long trek down and the second obstacle to visit."

"Yes sir!"

As they retreated to fulfill their duties, Patton turned to a slightly amused Supreme Leader.

"You'll like this one," Patton hissed as he fumbled with the hot tray of lunch. "Being a former spy and all..."

"It's just one step closer to my biggest obstacle yet," Rachel admitted. "I'm just trying to hype myself up for it."

Giving up on his lunch, he stuck it into the snow to cool down. "I promised that I'd get everyone to meet their quota," He faced her with determination in his eyes. "You know I'd never break a promise."

She smiled.

"I never doubted you for one second, Numbuh 60."

* * *

Another day passed when they finally came down the mountain and over half of the cadets were whining about returning to base.

Patton gave those people a good talk-to that made them shut up the rest of the trek to the Caverns of Eternal Ice.

While Rachel was nervous about the last obstacle, she was completely excited about this one. One needed to be fluid in their movements, having to maneuver through underground icicles and deep tunnels without illiciting noise that would cause it to collapse on itself. While it did sound dangerous, it really wasn't. The worse that could happen is that one might get buried in snow if it did collapse and even then they'd be saved by Patton. He made sure no one was ever left behind, no matter how incompetent they were.

A few cadets looked nervous as they reached the caverns and Rachel didn't blame them. It was dark and kids hated the dark.

Patton called for a short camp before venturing deep into the caverns and many were almost too much obliged to do so. Possibly to get themselves together before going into what they couldn't see.

One child complained loudly about the abuse.

"I'm afraid of the dark!" He hollered angrily. "You can't expect me to go in there!"

"We'll have flashlights, you idiot," Patton growled. "You think you're the only kid on the face of the planet whose afraid of the dark? Give me a break! Face your fears, cadet, or you'll never become a real KND operative! Mark my words, boy!"

It shut the kid up, but he then resorted to sniffling. While Rachel believed that Patton knew exactly what he was doing, she had to admit that the kid was only six years old.

She patted on the kid's shoulder when Patton retreated to set up camp. "You've got your friends. You're not alone."

This seemed to cheer the kid up considerably and he returned to his just as terrified friends. Patton was tough towards his kids, but he made fine examples of them. Numbuh 1 as one prime example.

He was definitely born for this job and he'd be an excellent military officer when he became an adult. Patton was definitely fit for the Army, maybe in Special Forces like the Green Berets. She remembered a picture of her grandfather wearing his uniform in his youth and tried to picture it on Patton.

Though, as Rachel tried to picture an adult Patton dressed up in military greens with a beret cap and all, she felt a slight churning in her gut. He'd certainly be a looker for the ladies one day.

_'No woman could easily resist a military man'_, Her Grandmother once told her as she admired Grandfather's military photo. _'They treat you right and the folks love them.'_

She didn't understand her words back then, but now she believed she got the pure gist of it.

Patton's sharp words from far off called out to her and she escaped from her musing, heeding his words to get to camp and eat before setting off into the dark caverns.

* * *

"You ever thought of joining the military when you're an adult?" Rachel wondered aloud as she peered into a small, dark hole beneath them.

"Ah-dun-nooh," Patton brokenly answered through a full mouth. His small flashlight was between his teeth as he reached over to feel for any potential ground spikes on the way down the hole. He gratefully pulled it out of his mouth when he deemed it safe. "Bleh...I don't know. Maybe."

Rachel seemed to accept that answer as she climbed over him, deciding to venture out first.

Because the cavern had split into three different paths, they were split into three groups. Two of Patton's senior cadets that he deemed worthy to lead headed the two others while Patton took his group, with Rachel joining the ranks.

The cadets waited patiently behind them, but scared out of their wits, unbeknownst to the genial conversation she and Patton were having.

"Why do you ask?" Patton inquired as Rachel proceeded to dive into the hole, gracefully landing on her feet. "Oi! Careful!"

She called up at him, her voice a subdued echo. "All clear down here!"

"I'm the Drill Sergeant and I'm supposed to check first!" He replied indignantly, scrambling to join her down the hole. "All clear, cadets! Follow my lead!" And with that, he hopped down after his blond friend.

He landed on the snow patched ice, slipping just a bit before righting himself up. Begrudgingly, he looked up and saw the intricate placing of ice pillars and icicles jutting out all over the place and knew at once that his Supreme Leader was at her optimal element. It was a cakewalk for a former spy.

As he heard the cadets overhead fighting over who should go down first, Rachel's voice reverberated off the walls, making the ice vibrate gently.

"Well, you seem comfortable being a Drill Sergeant," Rachel carried on their former conversation without missing a beat. "It seems like the natural choice for you to join the Army or Navy or something like that when you're older."

Patton shrugged as one of the cadets fell through, landing his butt on the ice. "Maybe. I guess it depends if the talent still stays with me after I get decommissioned, you know?" Rachel nodded in agreement. "Who knows what kind of teenager I'll be after KND..."

After all the cadets were accounted for, he commanded him to follow his lead, heading towards a pillar and jumping over it. Rachel followed suit.

"You know what I think of the kind of teenager you'll end up being?" Rachel said languidly as she made an impressive flip in the air and landed in front of Patton with an air of real grace.

He snapped out of what he felt was a score of ten on Rachel's gymnastic move and answered. "Oh really? Are you a psychic now?"

"Nope," She replied genially, slipping through a couple of protruding icicles with another bout of cat-like grace. "Geez, I'm a little rusty at this..."

"If this is you being rusty, I'd hate to see what you can do when you're at optimal performance." Patton noted dryly as he stumbled a bit over her last obstacle. This wasn't really his forte anyway. Taking a double-take to make sure that his group was following behind closely, he continued their little banter.

"Let's see..." Rachel started teasingly as she tapped on her chin while the other cadets tried to get over their last two obstacles. Patton really started to wonder if his usually stern Supreme Commander was having too much fun on this outing. "Your personality would be the same. You'd have a pension to lead which would have the school recommend you to join the _JROTC_ in high school..." Patton tilted his head curiously at her prediction. "And...you'd do well in it, you'd probably get the highest rank by the end of your high school years and you'd probably join the Army or any other military branch before you get carted off to college..."

"Ah..." He sounded vaguely interested.

"And it'll pay for your schooling, so you'll have no problems financially...You'll definitely spend most of your time rising up the ranks and finally become an Officer..."

"Is that so?"

"And I think you'll be quite the hot-shot with the ladies," She added mischievously. "You'll have them climbing all over themselves trying to date you."

He turned away, very embarrassed. "Enough! I don't want to hear that part!"

She chuckled quietly as to not upset the balance of ice. "I forgot that you're a boy. Boys don't like to talk about gushy romantic stuff."

"And _how_," He agreed, his ears still covered. "Most girls are still icky to me."

"Am I considered 'icky'?" Rachel wondered not too innocently.

He turned away and proceeded to get through another obstacle, trying vainly to finish the conversation. "I said _most_ girls. You are the exception to that rule."

"Is Fanny icky?" She pressed on, a teasing smile on her lips.

He had to think about that for a second before answering. "As long as she doesn't think the same of me. It should be a two-way street, if you'll pardon the adult term."

"Duly noted."

They managed to get through most of the obstacles in record time, though there were still some stragglers and Patton yelled at them to hurry up.

"You're going to fail your quota and you'll have to start this cavern all over again, ya hear?!" He bellowed, causing the ice to shake. "Get a movin'!"

Rachel watched in amusement as they all pressed forward in a faster pace, tripping over themselves to reach the end where sunlight stretched out from beyond the exit of the cave.

After Patton counted them all, he discovered that one was missing.

"Who isn't with the party?" He demanded.

A rather chubby cadet raised his hand.

"Sir, Miri hasn't come out yet." He answered shakily.

Patton proceeded to head back into the cavern, a strong sense of purpose in his step. "Cadet Miri!"

"I'm coming!" A small voice echoed out. The Drill Sergeant could see a very small girl trying to climb the last set of obstacles.

"Hurry up now!"

Just before she reached the last obstacle, she tripped on the ice and scraped her knee. She started to howl in pain.

Her screams reverberated dangerously throughout the cavern and it started to shake angrily at the abuse. Some of the pillars started to crack and fall.

"CRUD!" Patton swore as he ran after the fallen cadet, yelling at Rachel to lead the others and run toward the exit.

Doing as she was told, she slipped into her Numbuh 362 persona and commanded the rest out, icicles starting to rain down in broken pieces over their heads.

"Numbuh 60!!" She yelled out as the entrance collapsed, snow barricading it. She scrambled and tried to dig out the snow with her hands. "PATTON!"

Others followed suit in digging the snow out while the others watched by with pure terror on their faces. The rest soon got their wits about them and helped as well.

After a few minutes, they all jumped away in alarm when a gloved hand broke free of the snow and Rachel recognized the signature gloves. She grabbed on to it and the others helped her pull him and Cadet Miri out.

Miri was forced out of the makeshift snow hole and was dragged to safety as Rachel finished pulling Patton out, brushing the snow off his shoulders.

"You're a hero!" Rachel grinned at him.

Patton shrugged sheepishly, trying to brush off the praise along with the snow. "All in a day's work."

* * *

After the three groups managed to band together once again, they soon reached the Trail of the Yeti. Rachel felt like she was ready to puke. This was the most brutal part of all the obstacles put together. There were no minor obstacles, no mountains, no caverns.

Just a blank white trail of snow. It was almost daunting.

Patton wanted to offer a bit of words of comfort for his worried friend but thought better of it.

Rachel needed to beat this on her own.

After a brief camp, they trudged further until a landscape that seemed to stretch of endless fields of snow mirrored against the horizon. Rachel gulped.

"In this case, you all will be timed accordingly," Numbuh 60 hollered amongst the billowing Arctic winds. "Keep running forward until you hit the finish line. This marathon is five miles, people!" Everyone except Rachel groaned. She felt more sick than tired. "That's about twenty laps around a football field if you don't understand the severity of this run. You have one and a half hours to pass this. If not, you will drill again. And you will continue to do so until this quota is met. Do you read me?!"

"Sir, yes sir!" They all cried in unison.

He placed them all into a horizontal line for easier access to run. Rachel shivered slightly as she saw Patton joining on the far end. No doubt doing the same to make sure the proceedings are well.

"I'd like to warn you all as well," Patton continued. "There are Yetis afoot. I think it provides a certain reason to run like heck until you reach safety." Rachel and many others' eyes widened at this tidbit.

"Ready? SET, GO!"

And with that, they all took off running.

As she predicted, she was losing speed quickly much to her chagrin. She barely hit the third minute mark too...

Just as she was slowing down, Patton ran behind the others to encourage stragglers to move, providing colorful quips to their sad plight.

"Move IT cadet, I said MOVE IT!" He hollered at the chubby cadet who was breathing heavily against the cold air. "I've seen snails with a broken tail move faster than you!"

It would've been funny if she wasn't so desperate to work at her run, but she faltered even more behind from the quick runners.

"You call that a run?!" Patton growled as he fell in step with his Supreme Leader, trying his best not to cry out less mean insults at her. "Don't make me laugh, cadet! Pace yourself, cadet, it is impossible to be at a fast, continuous speed forever! You need to slow down and don't be discouraged of the runners ahead of you! They'll lose their energy faster than you if you pace!"

She nodded and tried to find a speed that didn't make her legs cry out uncle. It was slower than most, but it was acceptable enough for Patton to fall behind and interrogate the other stragglers.

"Did you not hear my advice, cadet, or were you just picking your nose idly when I wasn't looking?!" She heard Patton snarl from behind her. She really wanted to suppress a laugh.

She was surprised to find that she continuously ran at her own comfortable pace for about thirty minutes before tiring out again, opting to go at a speed walk instead to build up her energy. She checked her KND pedometer and found that she ran at least a mile and a half in thirty minutes. She needed to up her game a bit toward the end, but she was making good time at least.

_'Only three and a half miles to go,'_ She paced herself again, taking a swig of her water as she continued on. _'One hour left...need to gain more ground...'_

"Tea time is over, folks!" Patton bellowed from behind as she and a few slower people were in a speed walk. "You've got an hour and three miles to go! You'll miss your quota!"

As Rachel began to continue her pace, a bit more faster now, she was pleasantly surprised to see some of the faster runners at the beginning trail behind almost to their level, clearly exhausted.

"You're learning the hard way you wanna-be speedsters!" Numbuh 60 reprimanded the fast runners sternly. "You expended too much of your energy thinking it was a race! You better start pacing yourself or the turtles back there will beat your sorry behinds!"

This seemed to prompt the faster cadets to heed his words and do so, searching for their comfortable pace like Rachel did earlier.

Forty-five minutes pass and Rachel was happy to realize that she had a mile and a quarter left before the last fifteen minutes were up. She knew that she was cutting it close and she prayed to whatever deity is out there to help her pass the quota.

"Fifteen minutes, cadets!" Numbuh 60 reminded sharply. He started running ahead. "I'll meet you at the finish line. You're on your own now!"

And that was when it hit her. A strange pull erupted from her left leg and she cried out in pain as she crashed onto the ground, the bundle of muscles around her calf tightening.

"No, no come ON!" She cried out as the pain refused to subside. She tried to massage the cramp away. It was too much running. Her body wasn't accustomed to such long distances too soon.

She was almost there. She had ten minutes and a half of a mile to go. This was terrible...!

Getting up, she tried to hobble her way to the finish line, ignoring the stabbing pains that erupted up her leg.

Too slow...only seven minutes left!

A loud roar echoed across the harsh landscape, startling some of the runners who still had running to do. It was a feral and terrifying sound.

It was a Yetis' roar.

Patton wasn't kidding.

The sound was coming from far off where the finish line was. It stopped Rachel cold.

What if there was a Yeti over there?

She panicked. Patton went on ahead to the finish line to wait for everyone to pass it.

What if Patton was in trouble?

Her KND operative drive kicked in and her adrenaline shot up through her body. Her hobbling went faster and her thoughts on meeting the quota flew out of her head as she began to run after the Yeti, to help her friend.

"NUMBUH 60!" She yelled as she pushed herself into a fast sprint, the adrenaline pumping emergency energy into her muscles. All of her weariness seemed to cease. "PATTON! I'm coming!"

And almost like a blur, she ran faster and faster until she saw the finish line ahead and a great white furry creature stepping forward toward a familiar dark haired Drill Sergeant.

"You stay away from him, you monster!" She screamed at the top of her lungs as she rolled up her sleeves. She was ready for battle.

Uncaring of crossing said finish line, she ran to Patton's aid, sliding in front of the snow creature. She nearly tripped off her feet from how fast she was going. Patton tried to calm her down, but she refused.

"Let's dance, Yeti!"

"Stand down, Numbuh 362!"

"You nuts?!" Rachel looked at him in obvious bewilderment. "There's a Yeti right in front of you!"

Patton patted her back when he realized that she was slowly hyperventilating from the Arctic air and pumped adrenaline. He then gently lowered her hackles. "This one's friendly." He gestured at the big creature who was waving some of the operatives on happily, ignoring the mad blond. "His name's Kevin."

"Kevin?" Rachel wearily stared between both Patton and the Yeti.

Patton gave her an apologetic smile. "Yeah, he helps clear the snow off of the solar panels at the Arctic Base after every blizzard. He's turned out to be kinda our mascot."

"Solar...panels..." She voice trailed off quietly as the adrenaline soon left her aching and she slid down onto the snow, her left leg continued to pulse in anger at her rough treatment of it.

Patton caught her before she landed fully down. "Whoa, whoa. Easy now!"

Rachel swayed unsteadily, suddenly feeling very tired. "I think...I'm gonna faint..."

"Well, at least faint with this in mind," He grinned. "You past the quota!"

She gave him a shaking thumbs up before blacking out fully, knowing that Patton would take full care of her from then on out.

* * *

"Dat's quite ta story, Lass," Fanny nodded in approval. "Betta den dat stoopid story abou' Numbuh 3's search for da missin' Rainbow Monkey."

She and Rachel were awaiting the results of the Annual Physical in the Moonbase cafeteria, where it would be posted up momentarily. There were a mob of operatives filing around them, also waiting for their scores.

"Aside from the last obstacle, I had fun," Rachel continued, her arms folded as she contemplated her last week in Patton's emergency training group. "Maybe you'll go with me next year...?"

"Yea, righ'!" The red head laughed. "As if I'da be caught dead havin' ta deal with Numbuh 60 even if mah life depended on eet. Ye both are danger-attractas!"

Rachel snorted slightly as the crew came by with the large boards of results, sticking them as high as they go on the cafeteria wall. The impatient crowd pushed them forward.

The blond looked at the rosters with a disapproving eye. "I sure feel sorry for Numbuh 1 and his Sector V team. These rosters go in numerical order and the walls are pretty high up..."

"Aye, ye board is probably a bit fartha off ova dere," Fanny pointed at the far right with her thumb. Rachel nodded and left Fanny to find her own name as she went to find her own. Many operatives were either cheering or crying at the pass or fail as she walked by.

Her code number was in one of the middle boards and a bit higher up on the roster. She read the results carefully.

"Let's see...Maneuver and Stamina...passed...Balance...passed...Strength...passed...Evasiveness...passed..." She squinted a bit near the end where the results for the marathon was posted.

"Speed and Sprint...PASSED!" She uncharacteristically jumped up and down, ecstatic. "I passed the Physical!"

She definitely needed to buy a round of sodas for Patton the next time he visited Moonbase.

The desire to call Patton and tell him of her success overwhelmed her enough to run to her office and call him up immediately. It was only after she ran pass Fanny did she stop to realize that she wasn't cheering herself.

"Hey," Rachel poked Fanny on the shoulder. "How was your results?"

Her Irish friend didn't answer and it worried her. Rachel could see the deep frown on her face and both of her eyes were twitching.

That wasn't good.

She peered over her shoulder and looked for Fanny's number, finally seeing the number 86 with a row of results.

Rachel gaped at the results. "You failed balance AND strength?!" Fanny was shaking in anger. "What happened?"

"I dunna know!" Fanny cried out angrily. "Ah thought ah did good a' dose tests!"

The Supreme Leader tried to repress a smile and patted Fanny reassuringly on the shoulder.

"I guess you won't have to wait a year to go with me after all," She supplied with a straight face. "If you'll excuse me, Numbuh 86, I have a call to make."

She left the stunned Global Tactical Officer far enough to let out a huge chuckle and proceeded to return to her office to relay the good news to Numbuh 60.

He'll be getting Fanny for all of next month.

**End Transmission**

_**(There's a Star Trek XI piece of dialogue hidden in this prompt. If you can find it, I'll give you a cookie!)**_

_Next Prompt: Food_


	7. Prompt 6: Food

Disclaimer: Yep.

* * *

**Rating: T**

**Genre: Friendship/Drama**

_Prompt 6: Food_

Her fortune cookie stated that today was the end of something and the start of something new.

"Numbuh 362! The Decommissioning chairs are short-circuiting!"

"Commander, Numbuh 86 refuses to warrant an immediate clean-up in the boy's bathroom for _OBVIOUS_ reasons!"

"Numbuh 86 yelled at the new recruits and made twenty of them _cry_, Supreme Leader!"

"That Irish tyrant sent our team in the wrong location, sir! Some Global Tactical Officer, she is!"

Rachel tried to hush them all with her clipboard, panicking as usual when too many operatives tended to crowd around her like sharks to fresh blood.

"I'll get on it right away....no, this time I promise I'll straighten her out...Listen! I know she's difficult to deal with," She tried valiantly to defend her friend amongst all the complaining. "But that's typical of Numbuh 86. Just forward everything she's not authorizing over to me. I'll look it over, okay?"

Some left in disgruntled clusters and ten more took their places. Rachel felt like tearing her hair out right then and there. Most of the complaints were sent about Fanny's incompetence in her job, something she never had too much of a problem with before.

After another ten minute round of placating and subduing the irate crowd, she tempered on a short fuse as she returned her office, dropping another armful of paperwork onto her already full desk.

Her job seemed to be getting more difficult than usual this week and Fanny's work performance has been declining steadily over the last few days.

When she confronted Fanny for her inclining behavioral problems, she was given a dodged lie and a long bout of silence. It was unnerving her. She hated dealing with something she had too little to go by.

Hoping that Fanny could solve her personal problems on her own soon, she left her Irish friend to her own devises, but even that seemed futile.

She was gaining the ire of almost the entire base of operations. The complaints began to rack up, claiming of her unreasonable disposition, even toward the female operatives. Her mood swings scared enough kids to bypass her authority and jump to the next up the Chain of Command, which was the Supreme Leader, even if it wasn't her job for their clearances. Not to mention, the double paperwork it processed overnight because of it.

This was the Global Tactical Officer's job. And Rachel was doing both jobs at the same time.

Rachel jumped into her seat and leaned back slightly, looking at the intricate network of transparent, orange hamster tunnels running to and fro through her ceiling.

She had no choice. She'll have to confront Fanny once again and get her to change her attitude, or risk losing her Global Tactical Officer's position.

The Supreme Leader sighed softly and pressed the console, initiating the Computer's desktop.

"Locate Numbuh 86 and inform her that she is ordered to see me immediately." Rachel told the screen.

"Scanning," Replied the KND computer. "Numbuh 86 is located in the cafeteria bathrooms."

"Give her the message after she's finished."

"Affirmative, Numbuh 362."

* * *

Numbuh 86 had an air of resignation about her when she reported to Rachel's office. She must have surmised her inevitable meeting due to her strange behavior.

This puzzled Rachel. She never thought of Fanny as the silent type before when she refused to share her problems.

The Supreme Leader cleared her throat in an attempt to clear the awkward silence and leaned forward a bit from her seat, staring at her best friend with a stern expression.

"Mind telling me why you are ignoring your duties? And when you finally do, why do you attempt to intimidate the others into going after me instead?"

Fanny remained rigid in attention. Her stare looking right through her. This bothered the blond.

She leaned even more forward this time, deciding on a personal tactic. "Tell me what's wrong, Fanny."

"Dere's nothin' wrong, Supreme Leadah," Fanny countered. "Eet has been an off week, is all."

Rachel shook her head. "I've seen your off weeks, Fanny, and it's _nothing_ compared to this one." She then appeared thoughtful. "Is it about home?"

"Negative, Numbuh 362."

"School?"

"Negative, Numbuh 362."

"Then what is it?"

"Eet is nothin' of concern ta ye, sir."

Rachel slammed her fist impatiently on her desk, causing some of her paperwork to fall. This was going nowhere. "You will refer to me by my real name in private, Fanny."

The red head's stare became more focused and with a defiant look. "Is that an _order_, sir?"

Affronted by the retort, Rachel backpedaled. "You know what I mean, Fanny. We're friends."

"Friends dunna pry when someone dunna want ta talk," Fanny pointed out darkly. "An' I dunna wanna talk."

"Fine." Rachel was through playing nice. "If you don't want to talk, fine. But don't try merging your personal life with your professional. Your work performance has been poor lately. If you don't get your act straight, I'll have to demote you."

She rolled her eyes. "Whateva'."

"What." Her superior officer growled, enunciating her deadly question. "Did. You. Say?"

"I said," The red head's eyes narrowed into near slits. "What. Eva."

It was one thing to act snippy with Rachel. It was another to act like a sniveling teenager in front of a KND operative.

"You are dismissed for the day, Numbuh 86," Rachel pointed over Fanny's shoulder and at her office door. "Come back to KND when you stop acting like a cocky teenager."

Fanny marched on out. "Gladly, ye stuck up chinchilla."

Rachel growled in frustration and did what she always did when she was near volcanic eruption. She buried herself in paperwork to ebb it off.

It was only a few minutes later did Rachel realize that she was just called a chinchilla.

She HATED chinchillas.

* * *

And as if it couldn't get any worse, she received word from the sectors around Hungary that transported lunch to Moonbase was in danger of being intercepted by Grandma Stuffums. Apparently, she's not quite fond of meatball sandwiches.

Now, not only does she have to deal with a lack of help from her operatives, she had thousands of starving kids whining about being hungry.

This has turned out to be quite a Friday. Rachel wondered if the fortune cookie predicted the end of the KND due to starvation...

"Shuttles are down too due to interface upgrades..." Rachel mused as she read the report that was handed to her on her way to the Cafeteria. "...now we'll have to deal with an irate Numbuh 86 who can't even disembark on a shuttle home..."

If she was not ever in a terrible mood before, today just took the cake. She never had a fight with Fanny before that lasted a few hours as opposed to almost a full day. But right now, she couldn't deal with her personal problems right now.

She really did envy the operatives down on Earth. She was sure that they had their lunch an hour ago.

Her trek down to the cafeteria was uneventful, save the random operative that had the decency to crawl on the ground complaining of hunger pains. Some even settled into a nap on top of their stations, energy depleted due to a lack of sustenance.

This was not good. What if Moonbase became under attack? Everyone would be too weak to get to their battle stations.

She slowly felt her own stomach growling from the fasting abuse. Except that she had the self-control to ignore it due to practice. It was understandable why a bunch of kids wouldn't though.

Feeling a bit tired herself, she approached deep into the empty cafeteria, where Numbuh Spare Change for a $20 sat behind the trays with his back to her, looking irritable.

"Don't bother, kid," The Cafe helmsman grumbled. "Can't you see our shipment hasn't arrived yet?!"

"Yeah, Grandma Stuffums, I know," Rachel answered heavily, causing Spare Change to swivel around in surprise and salute in embarrassment. "At ease, operative."

"The sector from Turkey is providing back up according to Hungary's last memo," Spare Change folded his arms and grunted. "They may only make it to dinner the way the fight's going. That means everyone here will be starving for at least three hours."

Rachel nodded gravely at the news. "Thanks for the report. There has to be something we can do in the meantime?"

"We'll have to play kitchen for once," He shivered at the thought of doing something so adult-like. "Round up the best cooks and whip up something that'll hold until dinner."

The Supreme Leader contemplated this and cocked her head to the side thoughtfully. "Know any cooks?"

"I can cook a bit. My mom forces me into the kitchen every once in a while," He seemed to hastily add the last bit, his cheeks a bit red. "Don't tell the guys."

"My lips are sealed. Anyone else?" Rachel paced a bit, trying to come up with operatives she knew first hand who knew how to make a peanut butter sandwich at least.

Spare Change started to count off his fingers. "Jun from Accounting, Maddie from the Yipper station has a chef for a father...I hear Greg is good at making sandwiches...and of course, I know that Kuki Sanban makes a mean Japanese lunch...I think it was called banto or bintu..?"

"Bentou." Rachel corrected.

"Yeah, that," He patted a tray sheepishly. "But of course, she's back on Earth."

Rachel noted the names in her head for future reference. "Would that be enough?"

"Including me? That's four of us who know how to cook," Spare Change shook his head. "Four chefs against two thousand hungry operatives? That's five hundred per chef right there!" Rachel was impressed by his arithmetic.

But of course, who else would be better at working at the cashier like Numbuh Spare Change for a $20?

"It's just a simple sandwich with a prepackaged Twinkie per plate," Rachel reasoned. "It'll be enough to hold back the hunger until dinner. How hard could it possibly be?"

"We could at least need a head chef to make sure everything goes smoothly. I don't think any of us can handle that much of a workload without someone directing us..." Spare Change refuted back. "We're not even sure if we have enough bread and jam to provide enough sandwiches in the meantime."

Rachel's stomach began to sharply growl and she rubbed it none too gently. "What do you suppose we do then?"

"Can't you get your Global Tactical Officer to help us out?" Spare Change scratched his head plaintively. "Don't the people call her the _Iron Chef_ around here?"

"She's called a lot of things." Rachel said dryly. Oh, yeah. She forgot about Fanny's exceptional prowess in the kitchen. When she slept over at Rachel's house a while back, she whipped up an authentic Irish breakfast in the early hours of the morning, startling both her and the cook.

It was quite delicious too.

"Unfortunately, Numbuh 86 is caught between a rock and a cat whose tail has been stepped on multiple times," Rachel declined this suggestion darkly. "I doubt she'd be in the mood to whip up a grand entree for us..."

Spare Change raised an eyebrow at her. "It hasn't occurred to you that you can _order_ her to do as she's told, right?"

Rachel paused momentarily. Of course she thought of the repercussions of doing so. She never really had to order Fanny around before unless it was really important and Fanny herself agreed with said order to execute. She never ordered Fanny to do something she didn't _want_ to before.

Except for the 'Father becoming Supreme Leader' fiasco. But that was out of duty to the traditions of the KND and Fanny never held it against her before.

This time, though, she was almost certain that Fanny would resent it. Especially if she went to her now to do it. Especially after they had fought and told her red headed friend to keep her personal life and professional life separate.

As the thought of ordering Fanny to work with the cooks soon began to outweigh any other alternative, Rachel wondered if she should be taking her own advice for once.

And then there was this 'unspeakable vow' she and Fanny produced whenever they fought. They refused to speak to one another until someone apologized and all of the time, it was Rachel who did it. She felt a bit more peeved at this uneven ratio. It wasn't her job to apologize this time. She didn't do anything.

It was Fanny who decided to act like a total jerk in the first place!

All these thoughts soon jumbled in Rachel's head as it usually did through her thinking processes and she wondered if she had the gall to order Fanny around. Especially if they weren't on exactly _friendly_ terms at the moment.

But thousands of kids were counting on her to make this decision. Could she possibly destroy what's left of their already thin friendship or risk all of Moonbase into becoming a potential weak position to attacks from adults?

What if this was Grandma Stuffum's intention in the first place? Sabotage their food supply and when they're too starving to fight, have an entire fleet of evil adults ravage the place as easily as 1-2-3?

They were all viable theories and if they were true, she didn't have much time to waste.

She promised Spare Change that she'll think of a proper solution and rushed to the Decommissioning Office, hoping that by the time she reached Fanny's office, she'd decide on a proper decision to this dilemma.

Even if their friendship was on the line.

* * *

Rachel knew exactly what Fanny was doing behind her office door. She would be throwing darts at random pictures of boys on the wall, hence the occasional thump, a snarl almost permanently placed on her face. Bonus points if she's in a super bad mood.

And she was.

She forced the door to open without bothering to knock. Privacy was important to Fanny, but Rachel wouldn't dare let her slide that easy. If she was to complain about it, she will do so after she barged in her office.

Rachel was nearly hit by a dart, it's target near the door frame next to her.

"Ye wouldnta been a target if ye knocked like any sensible person." Fanny growled from her seat behind the desk as she took in Rachel's dark expression.

"You're needed in the kitchens," Rachel cut to the chase. "We need a fifth cook to help make the lunch quota in time."

Fanny looked at her with contempt before answering. "If I recall correctly, I am off for da day. Sorry."

"Don't be like that, Numbuh 86," Rachel snapped. "I'm not in the mood."

"Dat makes two o' us den, Lass."

"Listen!" Rachel strode over to Fanny's desk, taking away another dart that Fanny fished out from her drawer. "Whatever problems you have or _we_ have, you have to let it go temporarily. KND needs you to cook for them, or we may be in big trouble."

The Irish preteen yanked her hand away. "If ye think ye are gonna ask me to be a bloody cafeteria lady to a buncha kids, ye got anotha thing comin'!"

"I'm not going to ask you, Numbuh 86," Rachel stared at her resolutely. "I'm going to...I'm going to _order_ you to do it if you refuse to cooperate."

That hit the note. They both stared each other in silence as if Rachel had uttered the self-destruct sequence for Moonbase. Rachel slightly shivered at the betrayed look Fanny was sporting toward her.

"Are ye now?" She taunted dangerously, her voice bordered on fury and it kept Rachel from making the slightest bit of movement. "So, eet has come to dis, hasn't eet?"

Rachel reluctantly nodded. "You have forced my hand, Fanny, I'm sorry." She knew at once what she did. Fanny lost all respect for her, she was definitely sure of it.

She wanted to cry. She didn't want to force her best friend to do anything she didn't want to.

Numbuh 86's expression was gone and replaced with a mask of indifference. Rachel did know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.

She rose from her desk and proceeded to leave, following her Superior Commander's orders to report to the Cafeteria.

"Fanny...wait!" Rachel called out desperately. Fanny stopped, but didn't face her. "You're my best friend. You have always been my best friend....but if I have to choose between the well-being of my kids or yours...even if I don't want to...I _have_ to..."

She refused to answer. Rachel continued. "I've apologized for every fight we had, Fanny, whether it was my fault or not...but, I won't apologize for what I have to do. Not anymore."

"I will report to Numbuh Spare Change for a $20 immediately, Numbuh 362," Fanny merely replied back. "Your orders are clear."

"Yes," Rachel answered quietly as Fanny left the office. "They are."

* * *

Rachel flopped onto her huge, expensive bed and tried to find some semblance of peace in her near empty house. Her father was working late, her brother left to his own devises and she had no clue where her mother was right now.

All she wanted to do was get comfortable, fall into a fitful sleep and try to forget the day away. Forget that she was Numbuh 362, forget that she ever had friends to start with and forget that she was ever Rachel Thyra McKenzie.

Numbuh 86 had followed her orders and joined the other four cooks in their mission to feed the two thousand hungry operatives on base. With four hundred sandwiches evened between them, they managed to pop out enough PB&J's to satisfy everyone until Sector Hungary arrived with dinner after they immobilized Grandma Stuffums.

Mission accomplished and Rachel took the first able shuttle home, allowing Numbuh 489 to become Acting Commander for the night in her stead. She just wasn't in the mood for meatball sandwiches tonight. Or any other KND-type business for that matter.

She just lost a precious friend once again to her duty. She was angry, depressed and hurting.

But, she'd do it again. Make the same decision over and over again because she was too selfless for her own good.

The needs of many outweigh the needs of one. That was a philosophy she wholeheartedly stood by. It was the foundation of who she was.

_Sorry Fanny..._

Two knocks were at her oak bedroom door. She groaned and smashed an overstuffed pillow over her head. No doubt one of the maids wanted entry.

"Come back later!" Her muffled yells rang from beneath the pillow.

"Ms. Rachel, you have a friend waiting in the sitting room." The maid called from behind the door.

Rachel had to snicker dementedly into her pillow. Friends? Like she deserved any to start with.

Still, whoever it was down there obviously wanted to see her and her father always pressed that keeping a guest waiting reflected badly on the host and she didn't want to do that.

She reluctantly left her room and followed the maid to the sitting room. She stopped cold.

Fanny was waiting by the fireplace, looking quite nervous as opposed to her previous venom character earlier today.

"Let me guess," Rachel remarked dryly startling the red head. "You want to settle what I did to you with a rumble beatdown in my own home?"

Fanny looked away in shame and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Aye, I guess I deserved eet, didn't I?"

Rachel folded her arms and looked away pointedly, her leftover anger slowly dissipating. "What do you want?"

"I came ta apologize," Rachel's vision snapped back to Fanny in surprise. "I know ye were jus' doin' yer job an' I wasn't. I deserve ta resign from bein' Global Tactical Officer."

The blond shook her head and sighed. "Fanny, I'm not letting you resign."

"I'm not finished," Fanny looked down in a rare display of openness. "I know I haventa been a good friend an' it wasn' fair to take mah problems out on ye. But I'm apologizing now, because ye were righ'. All ye bin doin' is coverin' up for me or apologizing an' I neva appreciate it as much as I should. I'm sorry."

"I was really in the wrong this time," Rachel refuted meekly. "I _ordered_ you to do something against your will. You have every right to hate me."

"I dunna hate ye, Lass," Fanny smiled slightly. "Ye did what ye had ta do. I was mad, yeh, but I knew ye did da righ' thing in doin' so. Eet was selfless an' dat's why ye are our leadah."

Rachel nodded briskly so Fanny wouldn't have to blubber up another speech that she knew she absolutely hated to do. "I accept your apology."

The red head nodded back. "I dunna have much friends. Yer da only one who hasn't ditched meh afta one day. I dunna want ta screw dis only friendship I have up."

"You do have friends," Rachel amended. "There's Patton and others...but..." She raised her hand up. "You don't have to worry about losing mine ever."

Fanny smirked and shook the outstretched hand. "I know I dunna have to, because I'mma gunna tell you dis promise...ye neva have ta order me again." Rachel cocked her head to the side.

"What?"

"Because I will follow whateva ye ask of me," Fanny answered, her eyes resolute with a promise of determination. "Without question, I will."

Rachel nearly teared up at the declaration, but held it in with the last bit of her will. "Friends again?"

Fanny smiled. A true smile. "We always were, Lass."

"But, what happened?" Rachel wondered aloud. "What happened that caused you to act so...you know..?"

The red head seemed to flinch a bit and go bright red. Definitely not the reaction Rachel was hoping for. "Oh. Dat."

"What, 'that'?"

Fanny looked like she was about to cry and turned her head away, mumbling something quickly under her breath.

Rachel shook her head in confusion. "I don't...I didn't hear that."

The red head started to burst into tears, scaring Rachel from the extreme changes in moods. "I got da '_thing_'!"

"The '_thing_'?" Rachel repeated warily. "What does that...?"

Then it hit her. Moodiness, wild mood swings, irritability, tiredness, her pension for going to the bathroom more than usual...

"Oh..." She realized. Fanny wailed even more. "Oh! Really...?"

Fanny hiccuped. "Yeh..."

Speechless, Rachel scrambled to find a way to console her Irish friend. "Um...well, it's...normal for a girl to experience that...You're just becoming a..." She gulped. "A...woman...?"

That didn't help. Fanny's cries became louder.

"I DUNNA WANNA BE A WOMAN!!! Eet's a sure sign dat I'mma be decommissioned very soon!"

Rachel badly wanted to tell Fanny that a lot of girls mature very early in their childhood. She was once told from a school nurse that Asian girls get the '_thing_' earlier than others. Fanny may not be Asian, but she's twelve years old already. It was only a matter of time.

She gulped. The thought of herself getting the first ticket to womanhood was daunting. She pushed it into the back of her head.

"You know what, Fanny?" She grabbed Fanny's hands, causing the wailing to momentarily stop. "Ice cream will cheer you right up! Would you like that?"

Fanny sniffed. "Really?"

"Yeah, I have all sorts of flavors," Rachel continued, happy that she snapped her friend out of her depression so quickly. _The ups and downs of potential womanhood._ "The cook refuses to let Harvey have some before dinner, but he trusts me enough to make an exception."

"Well what are we waitin' for? Da end of da world?!" Fanny pulled her amused friend towards the huge kitchen. Nothing excited Fanny more than good ice cream."I say we have a banana split!"

Rachel laughed. "Whatever you say, Fanny."

_'You will lose something you may think is regrettable, but gain something even greater than before.'_ -Rachel's fortune cookie

**End Transmission**

_Next Prompt: Luxurious_


	8. Bonus Prompt 2: Midnight

Disclaimer: Still don't own it. Sadly..

A/N: Shout-out to Lord Malachite in the KND forums, who suggested this prompt title. :)

* * *

**Rating: K+**

**Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Angst**

_Bonus Prompt: Midnight_

_Ten minutes to midnight_

The mutely glowing Moonbase was almost entirely empty; many operatives having left to either sleep in their barracks or hitch a shuttle home back on Earth before curfew.

It was imperative for a child to be home before curfew at eight and heaven forbid you cause the wrath of your parents. It was also common for operatives around six years old to leave base around five for obvious reasons.

They have lives and families on Earth. They have homework, dinner and sleep waiting for them.

And then there's a place on Moonbase where those who break curfew go to. Rebellious preteens reigned supreme once the children have left and they remain for entirely different reasons.

It's almost as if they are anticipating something. Or are they trying to accept an inevitable?

_Nine minutes to midnight_

You almost couldn't believe how different these twelve year olds act at this time of night compared to their daily duties as loyal KND operatives. They are letting more on than they appeared. They sometimes stare in complete silence over nothing, something precocious children wouldn't even think of trying without losing interest.

The place is always open around midnight. It's almost as if it welcomes these people.

_Eight minutes to midnight_

It's an unspoken rule. You are able to visit here when you turn twelve years old. At this point in time.

It wasn't a privilege. It was an inevitability.

Some newbies were nervous and immensely terrified. Regulars look upon this secret tradition with silent steps and with an air of resignation.

The end was slowly drawing to a close and it scared them all.

_Seven minutes to midnight_

There are no lines waiting for entrance. It's almost as if they _feel_ when it's time for them to go next. One leaves the secret place, looking more resigned than the last time they entered and then the next follows after them. They gather their wits about them and they boldly take those final steps.

Rachel watches as her best friend, Fanny, follows out the entrance, her movements and expression uncharacteristically grave and matured. She waits for the first to step forward before all followed. Patton made an involuntary movement to Rachel's right, as if realizing that her turn would come soon.

She was the last of the three to turn twelve.

Midnight was special. Midnight was exactly at twelve, marking the next movement towards another day, towards the future. It was symbolic of the last day, the clean slate of the morning.

Feeling ready, she quietly hopped off of her seat on the ledge and Patton followed suit. He had done this before as did Fanny. It was almost as if he wanted to stop her, but couldn't.

None of them looked at each other. No one looked at each other here. Of all times KND operatives worked together, it was at these nights where they all remain truly alone, trying to fight off their inner demons. Together, but alone.

_Six minutes to midnight_

Fanny is waiting for the next one to follow her. Rachel could see through the dimly lit hallway of the apprehension everyone was feeling. They try valiantly to steel themselves, waiting for their turn at last.

No one forces them to do this. It was at their discretion, their own volition that pressed them forward. They needed to practice. They needed to re-live it over and over.

At least until the end is near, but at least they've done it before. Demented at it's worst.

Rachel is the one to step forward first. She refused to be the second, heaven forbid the last.

Fanny looked almost reluctant, but stepped to the side shortly, accepting her friend's decision. Rachel could sense Patton's uneasy movements from behind.

But she wanted this. She had always been one to lead by example first and foremost.

She didn't want anyone to believe that she'd end up like their last Supreme Leader, betraying the KND and all loyalties he stood before just because he was afraid of letting go. She was no traitor.

She didn't want to fail them by cheating the equivalent of death in the KND. Not when so many operatives bigger and more noble than her had been given the same fate and took it with honor.

Tradition is precious and important to her. Only the truly loyal uphold this truth.

Rachel stepped forward, away from Patton's protective circle and towards Fanny.

She was afraid and brave at the same time.

_Five minutes to midnight_

Fanny followed close behind her as Rachel tread into the entrance, walking the reflective hallway as if to her death. She could hear twittering from the outside. The first sounds she had heard since she came down here.

They reached the end at last, into a desolate looking room with pipes winding throughout the place. The temperature dropped steadily and she shivered.

Fanny said nothing as she followed, standing idly somewhere to the side and motioned ahead of her. Rachel stared at a lone chair in the middle of the room, wires spiraling from it and looking menacing.

The blond stood in a moment of rare terror, unable to move.

The Decommissioning Chair.

_Four minutes to midnight_

One seat could end the best and worst years of an operative's life in an instant. Everything you worked for, everything that made you who you were today, ended here.

It was a curse to most and a gift to the rare few who actually want to leave the past behind.

Where Rachel stood between the two, she didn't know.

She held her head up a little bit high and took the first step forward, feeling her memories slip one by one as she drew closer to the chair. She deliriously thought that she forgot her code number by the time she sat shaking on the the cold, hard chair.

Taking deep breaths as Fanny approached her carefully, her shaking refused to subside, if not only getting worse.

She closed her eyes hard when the sound of steps ceased, and Fanny's wavering voice echoed across the lonely room.

"Ra...Numbuh 362," The red head stuttered in correction, her hand resting on the lever, equally shaking. "Ye hav' reached da age o' thirteen. As ta protect da identity an' da traditions of de Kids Next Door...ye...ye are scheduled fer an honorable decommissionin'."

The sound of a lever being pulled followed her words and Rachel felt the entrapment of cuffs pinning her arms and legs to the chair...to keep her and so many others before her from getting cold feet...

...and escaping.

_Three minutes to midnight_

Fanny's next words were rushed and a hint of grief was given, something uncalled for in her duties. She enjoyed doing this, relishing as many before her struggled to be free and having her use this god-like power to take their precious memories away. But now...

She was almost relieved that she no longer had this job. Almost truly happy that she will not pull the trigger to end her special friendship with Rachel, for she would be going first instead.

There was a trip switch underneath Rachel's fingers. It was the fail-safe trigger to escaping, undoing the binds and running. A test of honor or dishonor, pass or fail lie beneath her fingers. Her fingers lightly ghost over it, the urge to press it overriding her senses. She couldn't move, the room was closing in on her.

Her breathing became more erratic and the the seconds seemed to tick by like hours. She was feeling claustrophobic when she was used to staying in small places. Small rooms were once her element.

But this, this was completely different.

Her life was flashing before her eyes. The things she's seen, the things she's done. The events that she loved and the moments where she regretted.

_Two minutes to midnight_

Rachel could not open her eyes, no matter how hard she tried. Fanny seemed to disappear from the room in her mind and she felt cornered with nowhere to turn to.

"As—as we proceed ta commence decommissionin', ye will no longa be called Numbuh 362," Fanny continued shakily. "Ye will now become a teenaga', an enemy of da Kids Next Door whether ye want ta or not..." Rachel's fingers placed her fingers directly on the button. She was sick to her stomach.

"Do ye undastand dese words, teenaga' Rachel Thyra McKenzie?"

Tears glistened heavily behind Rachel's closed eyes. "...Yes..."

All she could think about was her friends. Would they still be friends even if they no longer remembered the times they spent together on Moonbase? Would they still remain the same people, still loyal to kids? Or would they become so different that it was unrecognizable?

She'd lose everyone she cared for because she knew them in the one place she'd eventually forget. Everything she was, she _became_ would be gone in a blink of an eye.

_Fanny_

_Patton_

_Sector O_

_Sector V_

_Moonbase_

_Nigel_

They would cease to exist in her memories. Gone forever.

It wasn't fair.

_One minute to midnight_

"Do ye have any last words before yer decommissionin', Rachel McKenzie?" Fanny trailed off the last bit, her hand ghosting over the lever that would initiate said memory loss. The lever that every decommissioned operative loathed to the core.

If they ever remembered it, of course.

Rachel's trembling bordered on a new low. She was thoroughly shaking as the words sank in.

She had last words.

She had last words.

What was she going to say?

She tried to imagine what others before her would have said. Don't forget me? I'll seek revenge? Hasta la vista, baby? I will miss you all? Tell so and so I love him/her?

What would be her epic last words to the place where she poured her heart, soul and childhood into? Gave everything she had to the pursuit of the happiness of children all across the world?

Tears slowly escaped from her closed eyes. She could do this.

She clenched her fingers into a fist, away from the trigger that would save her memories, save everything she was. Nails dug into her palm achingly, anything to mask the pain being torn inside her ribcage.

"I..." She broken off.

She could do this.

She was willing to sacrifice herself. It was to be expected of her.

She could do this.

More tears escaped and she bit her lip in anger and fear.

She could do this.

As if her fingers were detached from her body, it unclenched itself and went wandering to the trigger, the pain in her chest guiding it without her consent.

_She couldn't do this._

"I CAN'T DO THIS!" Rachel cried out brokenly, her fingers scrambling to press the trigger, the binds undid her entrapment and she scrambled off of the chair, trying madly to find her way out and run.

Run with her memories intact.

Quick on her feet as usual, Fanny grabbed the sobbing commander as she tried to flee, hoping to hush her before it reverberated back to the entrance where others may hear. She could already hear the familiar lead footsteps of Patton's boots already approaching, summoned on time by an unknown force that sensed his friend's distress.

"I can't, I can't...don't make me..." Rachel trailed off, her struggling ceasing from Fanny's strong grip. "Please don't make me...!"

"'sokay, Lass, 'sokay," Fanny whispered, patting her back soothingly. "I won't make ye."

The footsteps grew louder and then it stopped. Fanny turned her head to see her rare male friend staring down at them soundly. He didn't dare come near, but remained frozen on the spot, waiting patiently for Rachel's leftover sobs to cease.

_Midnight_

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Rachel whispered as her sobbing resorted to hiccuping slightly. "I failed you, I'm so, so sorry..."

"Nobody passes the first time," Patton answered her softly into the silence. "No one can bear to."

Fanny stared at nothing in particular as she held her best friend in her arms, contemplating a desire to ditch her 'duty' tonight.

She couldn't bear someone else doing the same as Rachel did. So torn over their fate...

"I promise," Their Supreme Commander answered to nothing in particular. "I will do it next time. I swear I will."

Fanny and Patton regarded this promise gravely. A swear so demented, so tragic.

A declaration they must all abide to, or face a dishonored name forever in KND.

"We know."

**End Transmission**

_Next Prompt: Luxurious_


	9. Prompt 7: Luxurious

Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own it.

A/N: This is an email-styled prompt. Take a look into our Supreme Leader's emails and how she deals with them on a day-to-day basis. There is a plot somewhere, maybe two!

* * *

**Rating: K**

**Genre: General**

_Prompt 7: Luxurious_

_

* * *

  
_

_**Numbuh 362 INBOX**_

**Day 1**

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**673treasury**_

Subject: Commendation for Donors

_Down in Treasury, we have received a total of eleventy-hundred thousand dollars from the Rich Snobs from the Hills Upstate. As per section 45A paragraph C sub-section 12, the Supreme Commander must personally commend to donors in question for their generous donation. They will be arriving on Moonbase via shuttle at 3pm._

_We look forward to your speech later today, Commander._

_Numbuh 673_

_Moonbase Treasury Secretary_

_

* * *

  
_

To: _**362command**_

From: _**378engineering, sp$4_20cafeteria, 218accounting, 62.5science**_

Subject: Mandatory Budget Increase

_All mentioned directors attached request a higher budget raise in their respective departments due to an increased demand of upgrades this upcoming season. Please respond immediately._

_Signed the attached directors._

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**142**_

Subject: hamstur divicon upgrade

_sry to bother u, but we r in dier need of a upgrade in our hamstar divison. Sofie just had alott of babys and wev'e got a food shortge on hamstir food._

_Sinserly,_

_Numbuh 142 _

_Leader of Sector T_

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**mauriceTNDintel**_

Subject: RE:Villain Intel

_Nightbrace will not be present on Halloween due to the San Diego Dentist Convention._

_Mr. Boss' men are doing reconnaissance near Sector N._

_Toiletnator is doing nothing. As usual._

_Next report will be sent in three days. _

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**4420**_

Subject: RE:RE:RE:RE:Goodbye 11th Doctor! :(

_Yeah, I can't believe they passed the torch, but hey, it's part of the show's tradition! I'm probably gonna be sad for weeks as well. :(_

_The new Doctor doesn't seem so bad, despite the 20 something seconds of airtime he had near the end. You know how the fans get when a new Doctor is introduced though... ;)_

_I just saw your attachment. I can't believe that the Science division's productivity has dropped nearly 30% since the finale. Nerds, the whole lot of them! Lol_

_Numbuh 4420_

_Diversionary Tactics Expert --- Sector P_

* * *

**Day 2**

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**rsfthu**_

Subject: Small Changes

_Greetings, Number 362—Supreme Commander of Moonbase, _

_We appreciate your eloquent speech on behalf of us yesterday. We know how tough it is for someone of a high command as yourself to make room out of an already busy schedule to do something so insignificant as to commend us. _

_While our donation was for the sole gratitude towards your attempts to save children from villainous adults, we would like to exclusively put our money to good use. While we appreciate the good job your work has done, we have some stipulations all for visual's sake._

_If it isn't too much trouble, would you consider updating the dress code for all your operatives on Moonbase? For appearance sake, we feel that you will be taken seriously as an organization if you promoted yourselves from kitchen appliance gear to something more modern._

_Thank you for our inquiries,_

_The Rich Snobs from the Hills Upstate_

_

* * *

  
_

To: _**362command**_

From: _**86global**_

Subject: Treehouse Update

_All treehouses have now been fully upgraded on Earth. Moonbase and Arctic base computers are now pending an upgrade, sir._

_Sure is great to finally have a huge budget for once, eh Rachel? Even if they are a bunch of snobby brats...._

_Numbuh 86_

_Global Tactical Officer --- Moonbase_

* * *

To: _**alladdresses, 362command**_

From: _**sp$4_20cafeteria**_

Subject: Tonight's Menu

_Attention, all operatives!_

_For those night owls out there, we have on tonight's menu the **ravioli special** with **mash potatoes**, **dinner rolls** and for dessert, **chocolate pie**. All other regular food items are available at the Moonbase cafeteria._

_IMPORTANT!_

_KND operatives over the age of ten must bring an ID for access to the soda bar. NO EXCEPTIONS. All other drinks can still be bought at the regular price._

_Numbuh Spare Change for a $20_

_Moonbase Cafeteria_

* * *

To:_**alladdresses, 362command**_

From: _**102medical**_

Subject: REMINDER

Attachment: Reminder_Audio

_Due to the upcoming fall/winter months, the Common Cold will no doubt monopolize on this as our immune systems become weak from the cold weather. We have provided a list of health precautions to consider to avoid missing another snow day!_

**_-Drink plenty of fluids, especially orange juice. It strengthens the immune system and keeps your body going._**

**_-Have a good sleep routine. Your body practically restarts and takes care of yourself while you sleep. Lack of sleep makes you tired and your body becomes weak towards illness._**

**_-Dress warm. Don't leave without a sweater. You'll get sick. Listen to your mom for once._**

**_-Eat vitamins. That's an order. No explanation needed._**

**_-Take your annual flu shot. One small pain is a good trade-off than weeks of discomfort._**

_Abide by these precautions and you'll be healthy during the winter months!_

_Numbuh 102 M.D._

_Director of Moonbase Medical_

_PS: Those who still can't properly read, see audio attachment._

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**363**_

Subject: HELP!!1!11

_Listen, sis, dad grounded me because of the cell phone bill..its not my fault! KND business, ya know?!_

_I kno w your rolling your eyes but this is importaent! If im grounded i cant lead myt team aagainst count spanklot!_

_So please?!!1?!_

_Harvey_

* * *

**Day 3**

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**rsfthu**_

Subject: RE:RE:Small Changes

_Greetings Number 362,_

_We appreciate you working with us in ensuring that our money goes to good use. While we do not agree with some agendas, the dress code has been put into effect. Thank you._

_Upon your last reply, we understand your inquiries about setting in a dress code when the donation could have been used for other endeavors, like vehicle upgrades and such. But we feel that to ensure that your organization proves a standing to the world, a good dress code could provide a pleasing outlook to others. A reputation needs to be built. Surely you understand our plight?_

_On our last visit, we realized that a good number of your operatives were recklessly playing around the supposed command bridge and other places where sensitive instruments could be found. If it isn't so much a bother, would you kindly ban the games there? After all, we did pay for the new instruments and we feel it would be counterproductive if it were accidentally destroyed by a way-ward Frizbee. _

_Thank you for your time._

_The Rich Snobs from the Hills Upstate_

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**888power**_

Subject: Shore Leave

_Hamster productivity down 21%. Request for an early shore leave to Sector J by spring quarter._

_Numbuh 888_

_Director of Moonbase Power_

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**210**_

Subject: Mock Wedding Invite

_Supreme Leader Numbuh 362,_

_You are cordially invited to join in the pretend union between Numbuh 14 (Mary-Lou Sarah-Jane Jones __) and Numbuh 45 (Landon Eugene DiMarco) of Sector N and X respectively. We humbly ask if you will do the honor of marrying us._

_**RSVP**_

_**Sector N Treehouse**_

_**November 7**_

_**3pm**_

_Numbuh 45_

_Hand-to-Hand Combat Coordinator --- Sector X_

* * *

To: _**alladdresses, 362command**_

From: _**maintenance**_

Subject: Downtime

_All computers and electrical equipment pertaining to messaging and security systems are to be on downtime for the day, starting tonight at midnight. Rely on hamster messaging until further notice. _

_We apologize for any inconvenience._

_Moonbase Maintenance_

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**60command**_

Subject: RE:RE:R&R

_No kidding. And that's IF she got her act together fast enough to achieve it. My money's on her failing._

_Even tough guys like me get worn down from work. I'm tired of dealing with the little brats and I'm starting to get sick of this landscape that keeps snowing the terminals in._

_I hear there's a new onion ring colony down in California. I might visit there for the change in scenery. Let Lt. Numbuh 474 deal with the paperwork. I'm taking my unused shore leave and finally chug down a good glass of soda in the saloon._

_You should go. You'll give Sheriff Honk-Nugg a good run for his money with that sharp-shooting hand of yours. Sometimes I wonder if you were better off as a sniper than as I spy, but I digress. _

_Numbuh 60_

_Sergeant First Class --- Arctic Base _

_

* * *

_**Day 4 --- via Hamster Mail**

* * *

To: **Numbuh 362 **

From: **Maurice**

Subject: TND Intel Cont.

_DCFDTL is planning on setting up a haunted house for Halloween disguising the massive stockpiling of candy. Alert Sector V, preferably Numbuh 5._

_Common Cold has a plan involving the annual flu shot. Intel currently under investigation. _

_Next report in one week._

_

* * *

_**Day 5**

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**675treasury**_

Subject: Take into consideration please...!

_The donors of the generous fund, the **Rich Snobs from the Hills Upstate**, have sent a complaint stating that you authorized the annual dodgeball tournament inside Moonbase. A rule has already been confirmed that no activities other than KND work is allowed inside Moonbase. No exceptions. Even yours._

_They are allowed the customary tradition of picking out what to put their donation into what concerning the affairs of the KND personnel. We suggest that you appeal to their suggestions for the sake of the budget flow of Treasury, Commander._

_Numbuh 675_

_Director of KND Treasury_

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**86global**_

Subject: Mission Reports

_Mission success rate has risen by 12% in all respectable KND treehouses on Earth. Most notably in Sectors E, T, G, W and Y. _

_Villain mission success rate has dropped 31.5%. Teen Ninja capture risen accordingly._

_Indeed, sir. The donation to the Treasury couldn't have come at a better time. Sorry. :-/_

_Numbuh 86_

_Global Tactical Officer --- Moonbase_

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From:_**4**_

Subject: cruddy uniforms!!!#!11

_ey!_

_wutz da big idea givun us stooooooopid uneforms?! Deyre itchie and stooopid!_

_if aye hav ta go up dere an kick sum pencul pushin butt ta get sum answirs imma doin it!_

_not numbuh 4!_

_Hand-to-Hand Coordinator --- Sector V_

* * *

To: _**alladdresses, 362command**_

From: _**sp$4_20cafeteria**_

Subject: Lunch Schedule Changes

_ATTENTION: All future regular lunches has been changed accordingly due to a budget increase. We will now serve three different desserts for your variety pleasure. _

_**-Banana Cream Pie**_

_**-Birthday Cupcakes**_

_**-Chocolate Chip Cookies**_

_Also, Meatball Sandwich Day has been extended to **Monday** as well as **Friday**._

_Numbuh Spare Change for a $20_

_Moonbase Cafeteria_

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**1**_

Subject: RE:Yipper Convention

_While your counterargument is certainly plausible, you have forgotten an important component to your logic. One needs to be at perfect mental health to achieve such a feat._

_Of course, your intelligence rivals that of mine, if not more, but all things considered you must understand. I refuse to try my intellect against you if you are not in top mental condition. Simply unfair to go against you if you ask me!_

_You still have time. Take a break from all that stress before the convention and we'll see where that may lead us. I know you are tiring as I write this email due to work. Don't lie, I can tell easily._

_A vacation is in order, Rachel. Don't try to dodge it any longer. _

_Numbuh 1_

_Leader of Sector V_

_

* * *

_**Day 6**

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**rsfthu**_

Subject: RE:RE:RE:Small Changes

_Numbuh 362,_

_We have asked the Treasury department prior to this message and while they have authorized it, they strongly suggest that we go by these with you out of tradition._

_We understand your priorities with the KND differ from ours, but please keep in mind the reality of the situation. Your concerns about our stipulations and whatnot are somewhat justified, but unnecessary. It is our donation to use as we see fit with all due respect._

_Here is the new rules to add towards Moonbase, all approved by the Treasury:_

_**-All music is banned during KND work hours**_

_**-Dress code must be strictly enforced**_

_**-Any extracurricular activities are to be done away from Moonbase**_

_**-Meal times are restricted to two hours of break**_

_These are completely reasonable stipulations. Please have it enforced by tomorrow._

_The Rich Snobs from the Hills Upstate_

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**62.5science**_

Subject: Uniform Complaint

_Supreme Commander,_

_With all due respect and if you pardon the scientific jargon..._

_These uniforms suck._

_While we try valiantly to follow these new rules that are currently in effect, my scientists are having a huge difficulty maneuvering correctly in these stiff threads and many are complaining on many accidental explosions due to the clumsy fabrics. _

_Simply, we can't work in these outfits. Can we get back our comfortable lab coats, please?_

_Numbuh 62.5_

_Director of Moonbase Sciences_

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**111accounting**_

Subject: RE:Strange Numbers

_We have already informed each sector regarding their pay stubs and reevaluated the numbers a quadruple amount of times. They all reach the same amount._

_We seem to be on the verge of a shortage of our ice cream stocks. It is suggested that now on that operatives sent for inventory present written permissions from the accounting office in order for access to our stockpile. Need this into effect, please. _

_Numbuh 111_

_Head of Ice Cream Inventory_

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**1**_

Subject: I need to get this off of my chest...

_Rachel, I love you._

_There. I said it._

_We've known each other since the Academy and I've always felt something special with you. It just hadn't occurred to me of this fact until a moment of reflection. _

_I'm in love with you. You are everything to me. You are my most important person. _

_I am truly, irrevocably in love with you._

_Nigel_

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**ilanamckenzie**_

Subject: Visiting Arrangements

_Darling,_

_Just wrote to inform you that while your mother is visiting her family for her "rehabilitation", your father has invited me to stay at the manor for a motherly touch for you and your brother. Heaven knows you two need a bit of love in that house._

_I appreciate the birthday cards you and Harvey sent me. No grandmother would enjoy more than something made from her grandchildren with love. _

_Expect me by the weekend. We have much to discuss about your life so far. I am bringing a little gift for you two. There's a beautiful dress that I had Valentino Garavani make just for you. I know you are quite fond of his design and it took me a bit of a tussle to push him out of retirement for a month to make one for you. _

_Hopefully you'll be able to show it off at your father's next client party!_

_I won't tell what Harvey's getting. Let him fuss over it until I visit. _

_Your loving grandmother,_

_Ilana Mariena Tiberion-McKenzie_

_

* * *

_**Day 7**

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**rsfthu**_

Subject: New Rules

Attachment: KND_revised_rules

_New rules attached must be added to effect immediately. Please do so to ensure our donation goes where we feel should be going._

_The Rich Snobs from the Hills Upstate_

_**[Are you sure you want to delete this message? Y/N] YES**_

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**86global**_

Subject: Complaints

_Rachel,_

_Operative complaints over the new rules have risen to 30%. Most are directed at you for enforcing them. Approval ratings been dropped even lower than that._

_I know you have no choice but to follow orders, but the statistics think otherwise. _

_We might have a problem on our hands, lass. _

_Fanny_

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**101**_

Subject: RE:I need that email!

_it is impearative that is recieve numbuh 77s emai.l immedately eh is delaying the statue of yipper project in favor of making me anrgry! we have a glalleria opening next tusday and hes suppose to finish the statue by then! please do sumething!_

_Numbuh 101_

_Director of KND Seriously Cool Museum of Artifacts and Stuff _

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**589operativeservices**_

Subjects: More Complaints

_Supreme Commander:_

_It has come to our attention due to the thousands of complaints given by operatives on Moonbase that the new rules that have been enforced recently have caused the ire of most, prompting an investigation of this supposed 'donation' from the Rich Snobs from the Hills Upstate._

_Please keep in mind that we do this for operative satisfaction and is in no way reflected on your judgment to rule the KND. _

_Thank you._

_Numbuh 589 _

_Commissioner of Operative Services_

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**1**_

Subject: RE:What?

_Something tells me that you didn't send that achingly sappy love email to me yesterday, did you? Because I'm a bit on edge by the surprising clarity this letter had in regards to the intricacies of our friendship. Though, you seem to be confused as well by the email I 'supposedly' sent to you._

_Prank or something sinister? Maybe Father's scheming..._

_If they hand some sort of agenda in mind, rest assured that they succeeded in the embarrassment department. To be framed for writing love notes to your superior no less!_

_It's a good thing you picked up on the error of the email address that was sent to you. I'd have never caught the official '.org' being replaced by '.com'. Excellent work no less. _

_I'd like to investigate this tidbit on my own for now. You seem to be quite busy up there. I'll keep you informed._

_Numbuh 1_

_Leader of Sector V_

_

* * *

_**Day 8 **

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**rsfthu**_

Subject: Treehouse Sectors --- New Rules

_**[MESSAGE HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY DELETED]**_

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**mauriceTNDintel**_

Subject: RE:Request for Investigation

_TND Corps has approved your request for immediate intel towards the Rich Snobs from the Hills Upstate. I will personally check these guys out myself, Commander._

_Expect report no more than two days._

_Loyally yours,_

_Maurice_

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**86global**_

Subject: Ice Cream Dilemma

_Word on the grapevine seems that certain operatives are being bribed ice cream for reasons unknown. Make no mistake that I'm getting my best brats on the case. They will be caught and interrogated. This might have something to do with the strange numbers that Accounting is complaining about._

_Numbuh 86_

_Global Tactical Officer --- Moonbase_

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**378engineering**_

Subject: EMERGENCY

_Teen Ninjas have stolen blueprints of the new S.P.L.O.I.C.E.R., E.N.G.A.G.E., S.P.E.E.D.S.T.E.R. and_

_G.E.A.R. vehicles set for immediate assembly. Request immediate mission specs for all available sectors ASAP!_

_Numbuh 378_

_Director of Moonbase Engineering_

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**1**_

Subject: Phony Email

_I've traced the email. Apparently it's an operative's account. Gave me a good runaround, but I think I've got them mailed._

_If it wasn't any adult but our own, I wonder why they would do such a thing?_

_Numbuh 1_

_Leader of Sector V_

* * *

**Day 9**

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**675treasury**_

Subject: Unprofessional

_It seems that you have been either been deleting or ignoring emails from the Rich Snobs from the Hills Upstate._

_Completely unprofessional, Commander!_

_I suggest you get your act together and show that trademark maturity you've been using since you took up the post as our Supreme Commander. Use it._

_Failure to do so will have your records sent up to the KND Tribunal, which will review the case. Please do not force our hand. _

_Numbuh 675_

_Director of KND Treasury_

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**90**_

Subject: I'm ashamed

_You're a sell-out for catering to the Rich Snobs' whims. The Kids Next Door doesn't take orders from anyone, even kids. You should be ashamed for bending over to their will!_

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**489**_

Subject: not fair!!1

_u put up all these rules without asking about our opinons about it! knd isnt fun anymore! _

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**785**_

Subject: U suck!

_I used to look up to you but you are putting all these rules recently and it totally sucks ya know?! I hope u can hear us because alot of us are very mad about this. Do something plz!_

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**rsfthu**_

Subject: Compromise

_Numbuh 362,_

_You have been ignoring our emails due to what you believe is an 'unethical' use of our donation towards the Kids Next Door. It is obvious that you will not see our way without intervention from your own Treasury and we admit this fact. _

_Sources have indicated that you have 'weird numbers' regarding your organization's ice cream stocks, resulting in unfortunate pay cuts among the command seat as you strive to continuously pay the sectors their share. Admirable, but unnecessary._

_If you are willing to acquiescence to our demands, we will humbly pay you your share of the ice cream that you had to concede to your workers. _

_Please take this consideration to heart._

_The Rich Snobs from the Hills Upstate_

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**mckenziejames**_

Subject: Don't forget!

_Rachel, don't forget to inform me to take your hamster for her annual shots. I'm thinking that I'll have free time around Thursday. I might be too busy to remember. _

_I love you,_

_Dad_

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**1**_

Subject: RE:Big problem

_It sounds like you're in a jam. You've got to follow orders and everyone else is in an uproar about it. I have already talked to a few people who say the same. The problem is that everyone thinks that you are posting up those new anti-kid rules on your own instead of those Rich Snobs. A grain of misinformation goes a long way._

_All I can say is to fight them. Fight this corruption. You can't let them step all over you, preferably the Treasury. Only you have the power to deny or allow things to pass here in the Kids Next Door._

_But we already know your answer is already set. I'm almost touched that you asked me first before you attempted this. _

_I'm here for you 100%._

_Nigel_

* * *

**Day 10**

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**rsfthu**_

Subject: RE:RE: Compromise

_It seems that you have refused our offer. It was not a bribery, but you seem to insinuate that it is. _

_Very well. If you cannot be swayed, we feel that it is best that we receive our donation back as we are dissatisfied with how it is used. _

_You have also withdrawn all rules that we have set forth for the KND. It is proof enough that you do not consider our donation a worthy one._

_We expect our donation due by next week. Immediately._

_The Rich Snobs from the Hills Upstate_

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**mauriceTNDintel**_

Subject: RE:RE:Request for Investigation

_The Rich Snobs from the Hills Upstate go to the same finishing school (Perks for Riches Finishing School) as the Delightfuls. They have also visited their mansion during a get-together three weeks prior. _

_Intel has also provided that they are in league with the Teen Ninjas and have joined Chad's birthday party upon his parents' requests. _

_They are very much in league with our enemies, Commander._

_Shall I forward this email to the Treasury as you asked?_

_Maurice_

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**4420**_

Subject: Your boyfriend caught me

_Yeah, I know. He's NOT your boyfriend._

_Nevertheless, he caught me. Apparently his little friend manage to bypass all my dummy keys to find my computer and gave me a stern talk-to about false identification._

_Psh._

_And he told me to apologize to you. So I am. Man..._

_You have to admit, I caught you guys off-guard there with those little love notes. I bet you almost believed it! XD_

_*sigh* Guess I'm still caught up about the Doctor. I really do miss the little Scottish fella._

_Hope I didn't bother you too much! :)_

_Numbuh 4420_

_Diversionary Tactics Expert --- Sector P_

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From:_**589operativeservices**_

Subject: Positive Notes

_After the dissolving the new rules that was recently processed, the operative complaints have dropped drastically in your favor. Thank goodness! I almost thought a riot was about to start!_

_Hopefully, we no longer have another round of complaints like that again. Good work, Commander._

_Numbuh 589_

_Commissioner of Operative Services_

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From:_**675treasury**_

Subject: I hope you are proud of yourself

_Because the Rich Snobs from the Hills Upstate have withdrew their donation from the KND Treasury. We are now in the negatives, Commander!_

_We are very disappointed in your once sound reasoning. How are we going to boost our numbers back up now after the lengthy press in budget we used for upgrades?!_

_You better have looked over the consequences of your actions, because we have placed in the Tribunal that you personally have driven our donors away over stupid reasons unknown. _

_Expect a formal summons from the Tribunal._

_Numbuh 675_

_Director of KND Treasury_

_

* * *

_**Day 13**

* * *

To:_**362command**_

From:_**1**_

Subject: Unfair

_I just heard from Numbuh 10 before the KND Nightly News prompt that you are personally going to replenish the amount that the Rich Snobs have taken from the Treasury. It wasn't your fault, but you seem adamant during the last press conference that it was._

_The Treasury were nothing more than huge math nerds at any rate and they're just trying to push the blame on someone to deter from their own slight of mistake by accepting donations from the enemy. TND intel has forwarded their information to every sector on the map. I don't think this is right._

_But I know you'll hear none of it. Just keep in mind that a lot of us down here believes that your punishment to do so is unwarranted and frankly unfair. _

_You'll be receiving a special email from some of us. Just don't take it back. Consider it a donation. _

_Nigel_

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**sp$4_20cafeteria**_

Subject: Food withdrawal

Due to a sudden state of budget cuts, all above mentioned menus from last week have been cut. Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches and all regular menu items remain in the normal luncheon.

Thank you for the inconvenience.

Numbuh Spare Change for a $20

Moonbase Cafeteria

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**sectorV, sectorG, sectorP, sectorR, sectorL, sectorB, sectorI**_

Subject: Donations

_Due to the unfair donation withdrawal taken by an enemy, all attached Sectors have provided a month's worth of allowance from each operative in the hopes of paying back the Treasury alongside with Supreme Commander, Numbuh 362._

_Please expect the total amount in your CashBuddy account._

_Signed the attached leaders of Sectors V, G, P, R, L, B, and I._

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**86global**_

Subject: Donations

_I have sent you my month's worth of allowance alongside those on the Bridge and the Decommissioning Squad in your CashBuddy account. And no, I didn't threaten them. _

_Accept it, or I'll put you in a headlock, Rachel!_

_Fanny_

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**60command**_

Subject: Take it or else

_Believe it or not, I came up with the whole donating thing first. Fanny just copied me._

_I kicked a few behinds over at the base to send in their donations alongside mine. No, it is not unethical. If they want to get on my good side, they'd better deliver. _

_It's in your CashBuddy. Though, I wouldn't be surprised if you find a whole slew of them from all sides. You **are** the best Supreme Commander in this era. _

_Cheers,_

_Patton_

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**alladdresses**_

Subject: Donations

_All mentioned (Moonbase, Sectors and Arctic Base) have offered a month's worth of allowance for every operative in every division, group and sector in response to the call for a raise in the Treasury's negative accounts. All are forwarded to your CashBuddy account._

_All operatives of the Kids Next Door_

_

* * *

_**Day 15**

* * *

To: _**362command**_

From: _**5839tribunal**_

Subject: Case Closed

_We have received a case pending against you for withdrawn donation from the KND treasury due to uncooperative agendas with the donors in question. _

_Although, we have also received evidence from special ops claiming that these donors have donated with malicious intent of derailing the KND organization with ulterior motives. Most of which you relayed these suspicions to TND intel. _

_Therefore, we consider the case thrown out due to these new events._

_Judge Numbuh 5839_

_Supreme Judge of the Kids Next Door Tribunal _

* * *

**Day 16 **

* * *

To: _**alladdresses**_

From: _**362command**_

Subject: For every operative

_Treasury has been returned to normal thanks to your contributions. _

_Thanks you guys._

_Kids Next Door Rule!_

_Numbuh 362 _

_Supreme Commander of the Kids Next Door_

**End Transmission**

_

* * *

Next Prompt: Instrument  
_


	10. Prompt 8: Instrument

A/N: OMG, it's finally done!!!! BWAAAH.

Disclaimer: lrn2italian. I suck at it. Sue me if I get the language wrong. All you're getting is ten dollars...in pennies!

* * *

**Rating: K**

**Genre: General**

_Prompt 8: Instrument_

Guests have yet to trickle through the main doors of their large home, but they are dressed and ready to go. Soon, the chaperones will be arriving with glamored ladies and suited gentlemen, up to their necks in lavish jewelry and expensive threads.

Another one of James McKenzie's famous annual client parties.

Harvey kept tugging on the collar of his pristine suit, muttering angrily about monkeys and penguins as the nanny fussed over his tie. It was never his element, the elite life. Though, their mother usually paraded him around in those types of attire, so it's a wonder why he wasn't as used to it by now.

In stark contrast to her fidgety brother, Rachel stood patiently as one of the maids hemmed a minutely torn end of her heavily laced, black trumpet dress.

"Grandma's gonna be out for blood when she hears that you ripped up that Meracacchi-doohicky dress." Harvey sneered as his suit jacket was tugged forward.

"It's _Valentino Garavani_," She corrected back nonchalantly, her gaze staring ahead at nothing in particular. "And it's a small tear."

The latest theme according to her mother well memorized in the fashion industry would prevail tonight. A sea of black and shimmering champagne colors will fill the main party room with an elegance worthy of the Crown.

Their mother's true element was these types of parties. She'll be the belle of the ball as usual, but by the night's end, she'll be the fainting fancy on a nearby couch after too much wine. Rachel hoped that a spectacle would not be made at her father's party. Last year, they did not fare so well with the ensuing argument and the knowing chuckles of his clients.

A snip of a pair of scissors and Rachel was free to jump down from the pedestal, thanking the maid as she prepared to snap a pair of black barrettes into her golden locks.

"Ouch! Too tight, lady!" Harvey howled as the tie was carefully straightened. The nanny accidentally brushed her hand against his in his struggles. "DON'T TOUCH ME!"

Rachel ignored her brother's cries as the maids crowded around him to try and placate him. She was far too used to it. Instead, she made a break from the stifling room and peeked outside towards the gallery, where everything was lavishly set up for the party. Priceless silverware, china glistening ivory and dark drapery fluttering in sharp contrast with the glimmering polish of the cream tiled floor.

Her parents could be seen at the far end, near the vacant corner where the musicians would soon occupy. Her mother was in her new extravagant champagne ball gown that swayed slightly as she moved. Rachel had always thought her mother as a beautiful princess in her youth when she dressed like so. Like from a storybook. With her father in his best black suit, they looked like the typical fairytale couple.

How looks could be deceiving.

They were talking in urgent hush tones, but at least they weren't arguing as usual. Rachel took a sigh of relief before retreating back into the room where she found Harvey barricading himself from the help using a wheeled coat rack.

Typical pre-party jitters. Brilliant.

* * *

Like every other annual party, Rachel and even Harvey were on their best behavior as guests poured in, being introduced to every twirl-mustachioed monopoly men and haughty trophy wives with equally snobbish children.

Harvey twitched dangerously every so often when new blood proceeded to shake his hand. Regulars knew better, but there will always be the occasional new client who was unsuspecting of Harvey's condition.

Rachel remained patient, mentally noting how many hours left until she could promptly head to bed. This is one of the few times were she actually enjoyed her curfew being obscenely early.

Every pull of her cheek by an affectionate old lady or a quick tug on her hair by the young boys who had developed the crush-of-the-night on her, had the blond commander reciting KND regulations in her head like clockwork. She thought of paperwork that's already completed upstairs and the itching desire to take the emergency transport in her closet up to Moonbase.

For the fifth time of the hour, she monitored her younger brother's progress. He was faring, but only just. He's three-point-five handshakes away from a phobic meltdown.

The room was almost stifling. A sea of black and beige swirled in her vision, almost taunting her to crack under pressure...

The fashionably late party-goers finally arrived and the two children gratefully left the entrance for the banquet waiting for them in the main ballroom.

Harvey, without sparing one look, made a beeline for the buffet table. Rachel opted not to eat yet, but her stomach wanted to contest that decision. Sighing, she reached a table where the most recognizable foods were stationed.

Heaven forbid she start experimenting on the exotic foods like last time. She had a date with the toilet bowl when she discovered that she was scarfing down jellied moose nose.

It wasn't as bad as Harvey, though. He once ate an entire vat of ant caviar, thinking it was crinkled french fries.

Shivering at the memory, she pulled out an ivory plate and proceeded to run a quizzical eye over the sea of different foods. She saw some roast, but she wasn't sure if it was _actually_ a roast.

Giving up, she proceeded to the nearest table ends where bowls of fruit served around the dishes for an aesthetic appeal.

Fruit! Something she did recognize! She grabbed an apple, despite it ruining the overall presentation of the decoration.

"Sweetheart, over here!" A deep voice recognizable to her gently guided her shoulder from the table and back towards the guests. "I want you to meet my new clients."

"Okay, father." She hid the apple behind her to look a bit more presentable. Looking past her father's gesturing in front of them, she stared politely at a heavy-set older man with strict-looking mature woman hanging on his arm.

James beamed at his daughter and then addressed the new clients. "Mr. Petrelli, Miss Petrelli, I'd like you to meet my first-born child, Rachel. Rachel, these are the new clients for the Roe case."

Rachel gave a half curtsy. "Nice to meet you."

"Charmed," The woman answered plainly. Her husband said nothing. It seems he would not waste his breath for anything. "I hear you are quite the prodigy—that you have many admirable talents."

Rachel shrugged slightly. "I've been raised to achieve and conquer all necessary obstacles and paths academically. It is mere work over privilege that grants me a prodigy status, ma'am."

Satisfied with the answer, the woman's face softened slightly. "Well, I see you excel at child rearing, James. If only more children had proper discipline like your daughter..."

_Don't count on it_, the voice of a KND operative arose within Rachel's chest, _Not when we exist to keep kids happy and free...!_

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she managed to suppress the voice and return to dull reality.

"Rachel will grace us tonight with her piano playing," James squeezed his daughter's shoulder gently. "She's a beautiful pianist."

Rachel smiled minutely. "Thank you, father."

Miss Petrelli cocked her head to the side when her husband stared at her peculiarly. "Ah...we would have you meet our children as well, but they are preoccupied networking with the other children here. I'm sure you'll meet them at some point in the night."

Nodding at the words, she looked up at her father expectantly. "May I eat first before I play?"

James smiled. "Of course, princess." He patted her shoulder and ushered her away to talk some more with his new clients.

"It was nice meeting you, Ms. Rachel." Miss Petrelli inclined her head.

Rachel nodded and walked off, finally able to eat her apple in peace.

* * *

Reaching a more isolated part of the room, she looked at the shiny apple, her stomach agreeing with it's perfect appearance.

She prepared to take that perfect bite, but froze at an incessant giggling from behind her. She gently lowered her apple and the giggling grew louder.

Clearing her throat, she turned to find a haggle of girls crouching behind pillars, obviously ogling at something ahead. Rachel tried to get a look on what was so fascinating, but there were too many people in her line of vision to find the culprit.

"What are you guys doing?"

The girls all jumped at Rachel's commander voice and some turned to face her. One of the girls frowned.

"What do you want?" She demanded.

"This is my house," Rachel glared at them. "And I'd like to know what you are giggling about. You're not making fun of anybody are you?"

Some of the girls giggled. The others look puzzled at her words.

"No..." One of the brunettes answered. "You don't know who's here...do you?"

Rachel looked at them in puzzlement. She's met everybody at the door. There was no one who seemed out of the ordinary enough to cause such a reaction as what she was seeing now.

She'll have to play along to get to the bottom of this.

"Okay...who's here?"

More giggling commenced and Rachel felt the urge to cover her ears.

A pigtailed girl broke free from the group to poke gently at Rachel's apple. "Better be on your best behavior if you wanna please the Boss. He's so dreamy!"

Rachel opened her mouth to voice her concerns on who this 'Boss' is, but they all scattered when the help shooed them away from the pillars.

She really didn't care if it's just some stud that caught the girls' attention. If it won't disrupt her dad's important party, it was no concern of her.

Shrugging, she proceeded to start on her apple at last. Boy, was she hungry...

But her jaw found air and her teeth clenched at nothing.

Growling quietly, she focused on the thief who stole her dinner. "What's the big idea?!"

A scruffy looking teenager of fourteen smoothly munched on his 'loot', his tuxedo askew and his blue eyes gleaming at her. Smirking slightly, he tossed the apple back at her and tried to slick his shaggy dark hair back. "Delicious apple you got there, sweetheart!" His voice sounded very east coast with an airy Italian mob flare.

She caught the apple quickly and glared at the corrupted fruit, now half gone. "Ever heard of manners, you teenage shrew?!"

"Sorry about that," He tried his best to look sheepish. "I'm pretty hungry."

Rachel raised an eyebrow, her tone now even. "Whatever." She turned on her heel, deciding to diffuse the situation by walking away, despite the growing urge to smack the rude teen around with her Yield sign.

"Hey wait!"

Rachel ignored him, picking up a bit of speed, her trumpet dress flaring behind her. If she turned back around, she might not stop herself and completely thrash him.

Nevertheless, he caught up with her, his teenage growth spurt easily overcoming her still child-like agility. He completely blocked her exit, a complacent smile on his face.

"I like your dress," It was obvious he was trying to initiate small talk with her. "Valentino Garavani unique?"

She stared at him, unimpressed. "Any rich-toting moron would know that."

He pretended to look hurt. "Ouch, princess."

"Don't call me princess."

"I'm Vincent."

"I don't care."

"Wanna go out on a date?"

Taken back at the sudden declaration, she sputtered. "E-excuse me...?!"

"Ya know. Romantic dinner, candlelit dancing, long walks on the beach?" Vincent used his hands to demonstrate those notions. "You dames like that kind of stuff, right?"

She raised an eyebrow, unamused. "Dames?"

"Ya know, wom--"

"Yes, I am familiar with that term. And no, I am not a 'dame'," She turned away, opting to retreat into more crowded territory. "Waste your lame lines on someone else."

The only response was a low whistle. She straightened in a huff that would make her own mother proud and decided that Harvey needed a good check-in. He's been running wild long enough.

Her mood quickly plummeted when she found Harvey stuffing his face over the dessert table, causing some of the guests walking by to stick their proverbial noses up in the air in disgust.

"Harvey!" She scolded, slapping upside his head. He howled at the touch, dropping the lemon meringue on top of the variety of parfaits. "Look at the mess you made!"

He jumped back a good distance to keep his sister from committing the **Evil Touch of Doom**. "Will you leave me alone for once?!"

Rachel closed her eyes and counted to ten. The last thing they need is having Harvey look like a pig to her father's clients. Image is everything.

She calmed herself and snapped her fingers, initiating the help to clean the mess. They scrambled and began to fix up the messy table. Harvey scoffed.

"Sometimes I question whether you're a KND operative, or my mother."

"Strange," Rachel's tone was clipped and dark. "I question whether you're KND operative, or Grandma Stuffum's long lost grandson."

He stuck his tongue out at her. "Don't you have other things to do?"

"The recital's not until seven." She responded plainly.

"No, I mean KND stuff..." He was leaning in conspiratorially that alarmed Rachel. She followed suit. "You know of the Boss?"

She furrowed her eyebrows down in confusion. "I've been approached about that. Something we should be worried about?"

Harvey straightened slightly and looked up snobbishly. "I've been doing some Intel around for a bit. The Godkid's looking for KND's Supreme Commander, aka you."

Rachel folded her arms. "What does he want from me?"

He shrugged. "Beats me.

Anything that seemed KND related always piqued Rachel's interest. Though, it was almost suspicious with how casual the grapevine seems to be concerning this 'Boss' who's been requesting her. As a former spy and decorated operative of the Kids Next Door, she debated whether she would be walking into a trap if she pursued this character.

Curiosity getting the better of her, she followed the leads a few party-goers had concerning the Boss and found herself outside of her own sitting room. It annoyed her to no end that some presumptuous brat decided to make an office out of her own house.

Two teenage guards watched the door. Was she confronting a teen?

They acknowledged her presence as all lunk-headed thugs do and stepped in front of her way, towering over her, trying to look menacing.

"What do you want, brat?" Ogre number one snarled.

Ogre number two laughed in agreement. "Good one!"

She blew a bit of hair from her face in exasperation. "This is my mansion, you ingrates! I can go wherever I please!"

They looked at each other, trying to paste her words together. She wouldn't be surprised if they thought two plus two equaled fish.

"Oh," Ogre number one scratched his head and regarded her. "You must be that DNK leader chick."

She straightened proudly. "Number one, it's KND, not DNK. Number two, I'm the Supreme Commander, so show some respect! And number three, I'm not a chick. I'm a girl," They crossed their arms in defiance and she shoved them aside. "This is my house. Now, move!!!"

They scrambled after her, but she pushed open the double doors swiftly and marched inside.

* * *

Some of the furniture was rearranged, something she instantly noticed. The fireplace on the opposite end was lit up and roaring, the large study desk placed in front of it. There were two other leaner goons perched on either side, both teenage girls. A large backed chair had it's back to her, obscuring whoever sat behind it.

One of the girls scoffed at her entrance. She was insanely beautiful and of a Latino persuasion. Her New York accent didn't seem out of place in the room. "You ain't supposed to be here without an invitation." The just as equally gorgeous platinum blond girl on the other side chuckled.

Rachel stared at them with revulsion. Doesn't anybody respect people's houses these days?

"This is my house." She echoed for the umpteenth time. "I can go wherever I please."

The blond girl giggled sweetly. From her looks alone, she seemed a bit air-headed. "Not with the Boss around, you ain't. For the night, it's _his_ territory."

She snapped her fingers and the two large goons marched in, grabbing at Rachel's arms. Rachel struggled against them.

"Let me go!"

"Hem, hem," A voice behind the large chair cleared his throat. "Enough."

The thugs stopped and Rachel took the initiative, stomping her high heeled shoe onto thug number one's foot. He jumped and howled and Rachel in turn elbowed thug number two in the solar plexus, having him double over in pain. They released her immediately.

The girls looked befuddled at the scene. They've obviously never seen a young girl taking out two large male teens before. The Latino girl whistled in amazement.

"Apparently, you were looking for me?" Rachel righted herself up. It was hard to fight in a dress, especially a trumpet one.

"Indeed I was..." He sounded like he had cotton balls stuffed in his mouth and it reminded her vaguely of Marlon Brando. How cliched. "A friend of mine found that you had a problem with some teen. Vincent was it?"

Rachel nodded her head back to the injured goons. "You've been clocking me with your babbos?"

"Who you calling a 'babbo'?!" One of them snarled.

The voice chuckled. "You're familiar with American-Italian lingo. This pleases me."

The blond lackey motioned to the Latina. "What did she say, Amilia?"

Amilia rolled her eyes. "She asked if he was watching her using his 'lame' bodyguards."

"Oh."

"If you mean 'mob' lingo, then yes," Rachel replied. "It pays when you have a father that deals with your kind on a daily basis."

Silence. She continued. "Who are you?"

The voice motioned his goons to turn the chair around, which they obliged quickly. It revealed a greasy-looking kid, with slick backed hair and a gray pinstripe suit. He had a gold chain around his neck. He sat primly as if he owned the entire mansion himself.

"I'm the Petrelli's son. I am the Godkid."

Rachel had heard of the Godfamily before in the archives back on Moonbase. Their 'Family' was an unsavory bunch, helping kids, teens and adults out with a terrible price attached. It was this reason alone why KND refuses to affiliate with them. Bullying kids for repayment was never their style.

"This Vincent fellow. I can whack him for you, for a price," He continued, ignoring when she opened her mouth to protest. "I can assure you...he is looking for you as we speak. He's an annoying fella."

"Is that why you're tailing me? Because of some annoying teen?" She stared at him lazily. "Doesn't seem productive of you."

The Godkid crossed his fingers together. "The price is small in comparison of the contract. Your volunteering will be greatly appreciated."

She frowned. "The KND does not make deals with the Godfamily. Under any circumstance."

"Ah, but you are the Capo Crimini to the KND. All factions answer to you," He redirected. "Rules were made to be bent or broken on your command."(1)

"I'm not that type of leader. Sorry." She added the last part reluctantly. Respect still needed to be given.

"You'll have no choice. See, we have already disposed of Vincent. Now you must uphold your end of the arrangement."

Rachel snapped back at him, outraged. "I agreed to nothing!"

"If you go back on it, I'm afraid we'll have to resort to the unthinkable. Your father's party," He stared back at her, emotionlessly. "You don't want it to go wrong, do you?"

"You're unreasonable," She growled. "And you make no sense!"

He continued, ignoring her words. "Payment is simple. Become my Comare."(2)

Taken aback, she stilled. "You're disgusting! Your girlfriend? Seriously?!"

The Godkid sat back, idly staring at his gold rings. "During a prodigy party back in New York, I saw a Rachel McKenzie play the piano. Mozart's Rondo Alla Turca. Let's say I was astoundingly...in love with you due to that."

She smelled it at once. A load of crap.

"I'm leaving," She finished, turning on her heel. "And if you dare think of messing up my father's party, I'll have Sectors T through Y come down and teach you a lesson, caprice?"

"You have one hour to mull the decision around."

She glared at him. "Fanabala."(3)

Amilia dropped her jaw at the curse word as Rachel walked off gracefully.

* * *

Her threat was just as empty, but she refused to show them that. There was no way she could use the KND's already shaking resources just to save a measly party, no matter how much it means to her father. Hopefully the Godkid is thinking of her alternative threat.

Seems pretty ballsy from his end. There had to be an ulterior motive than that lame excuse of him enjoying her piano playing.

No, this seemed more like a title thing. She was the Supreme Commander of the KND. She was worth something to the enemy, that's for sure.

She needed air, deciding on the veranda.

As she played through different scenarios in her head regarding a conclusion where she can escape such an unfair deal, she ran into the one person she really didn't need to deal with.

"You!" Rachel grabbed Vincent's jacket. "You idiot!"

Vincent leaned back from the hold out of instinct, as if he was anticipating a choke-hold. She noticed his busted lip and even worse appearance.

The teen wiped a bit of blood from his lip and smiled apologetically. "Let me guess. Pauly made you the offer you 'cannot refuse'."

"I see he got his goons on you," She slowly withdrew her hold from him and he gratefully fixed himself up. "Just like he said."

He shrugged indifferently. "Meh, I gave a few turbans before I escaped."

"I'm not familiar with that vernacular."

"I cracked a few skulls."

"I see."

"In any case," Vincent rubbed the back of his neck and stretched embarrassingly. "I need your help."

Rachel crossed her arms. "The Godkid has sent a contract on you, didn't he? That's why he made the excuse of trying to get rid of you to get to me."

"Very perceptive of you. But yeah, that's part of the reason..." He leaned back against the railing, his expression calculated. It surprised her with his change of character. "I'm a threat to him."

She remained quiet, waiting for him to continue.

"I look like a mess, because it keeps me under that brat's radar. I normally don't look like this. Pauly thinks that once he gets rid of me, he'll have a broader control over the family. He'll have both kids and teens on his side."

"Pauly?" She wondered aloud.

"Yeah," He answered plainly. "My little brother. The Godkid."

Realization dawned on her. There were three heads in the Godfamily, each hailing a different set of people. The Godkid dealt with kids, the Godfather dealt with adults and the...

"My full name is Vincent Angelo Petrelli. I'm the Godbrother. I deal with the teens," Vincent straightened himself proudly. "But I need to overthrow my brother. And that's why I need your help."

"You're joking, right? You do realize I work on the side of kids? Why would I want to help a teen?" She queried suspiciously.

He sighed and cleared his throat.

"Pauly Petrelli...the 'Godkid', wants to overthrow my jurisdiction over teens. In order to do so, he needs the heavy artillery, aka the Kids Next Door," He cracked his knuckles absently at the memory. "And just because he's a kid, he could get that favored support. But he's not a good kid, Ms. McKenzie, not at all. He's slime and we Petrellis pride ourselves for being above slime. We're not like other mob families. We just take care of our turf and our family within it. Any deals are repaid in increments, not a full beat-down. I was taught that. But Pauly..." He shook his head. "Just slime."

"My turf is surrounding teens and their troubles," He continued. "Pauly's looking to extend his influence. He's after my turf. Power-hungry little---"

She cleared his throat. He stopped mid-rant.

"Sorry. Anywho, we've got our father, see? The Godfather? He prides his kids on their creativity. Pauly's looking for a pat on the back from dad. Thinks that if he gains his favor, he'll be first in line for the Godfather position when he gets older, knock me out of sync. If he succeeds, the little cugine's(4) gonna have both kids and teens under his control and he ain't looking out for them. He'll force them to follow adults to appease dad. That's where you'll want to help, Ms. Supreme Leader."

Rachel looked thoughtful. "And what if your lying? I don't trust teens."

He nodded. "Ey, I understand completely. And I know your dad's party is toast if you refuse Pauly's offer..." Vincent looked a bit nervous. "I wasn't supposed to blow my cover, but it's getting worse and your my last resort. Numbuh Three-Sixty Two, do you know who I am?"

She blinked. "Vincent Petrelli?"

"No," He let out a small grin. "My codename...eh, number."

Her eyes widened at his statement. "You're not...?"

"Yeah. Numbuh 10-74. Former tactical officer of Sector N. Teens Next Door Intel operative for Civil Defense."(5)

Impressive. She only knew a few on the roster of enlisted teens because they were under secret listing in the Arctic Base. To say she was stunned at the confession was an understatement.

"Of course, I just broke a dozen laws that I was supposed to uphold now...being top secret and all," He sheepishly shrugged. "But this is important. Very important. I need to keep my Godbrother status. The balance of power have already been overturned. Pauly and I need the all or nothing. The only way we can be sure that things remain fair is if I overthrow Pauly and take the kids in alongside the teens. As long as I have them, I can keep the teens from being unfair to kids. We'll be on the same team against adults. But if Pauly controls them..." Vincent shivered. "...He'll let them roam free. The teen to kid ratio is immense. They'll be eaten alive. He's _that_ irresponsible. I need you to become my 'girlfriend' in order to prove that teens and kids are on _my_ side. If the Supreme Commander of the Kids Next Door, an organization dedicated for children's defense, becomes affiliated with me or Pauly, the kids will transition easily to either side. You're the one who can tip either favor."

Rachel sighed and contemplated this information. Vincent could be trusted. His credentials prove that. All she needed to do was pull up the archives and find his photo and number.

And now, she seems to be the catalyst to this mess. If she becomes Pauly's girlfriend, he'll have enough leverage to 'own' the KND and the teens, overthrowing Vincent and leaving her father's reputation intact. If she becomes Vincent's 'girlfriend', Pauly could be easily overthrown, Vincent will keep the kids and teens from Godfather's clutches, but her father's reputation could be damaging due to Pauly's threat.

She had to choose between her personal life and her professional life. Brilliant.

"I need to think on this," She said finally, startling Vincent. "Give me some time."

It was his turn to sigh. "Commander, our time limit is short. Pauly wants the go ahead. Now that dad's around, he's gonna want results. We can't afford to waste time!"

"I know that," She replied sternly. "And I know the repercussions, but..."

She loved her dad very much. Could she really disappoint him by having his party ruined due to her decision? This night means everything, it proved that he cared about his clients enough to be friends with them.

"Dad's gonna be at your performance debut," Vincent resigned slowly. "You'll have until then to make your decision. I'll leave you to it."

She nodded as he retreated to give her space, no doubt rallying whatever loyal followers he had left. She had thirty minutes to decide.

* * *

Claps resounded throughout the ballroom and a slow reaction of stage fright hit her. There was a bigger crowd than last year...

But that wasn't what she was really worried about. It was her decision. She was caught between two factions and either one almost seemed better than the other.

She stared at the big, grand piano where she would begin her methodical playing. What was she planning on playing? Oh right, Bach's Menuet in G Major. Best not to forget that.

Turning toward her audience, she easily found the Godkid, flanked by large teen lackeys. It explained why they were guarding a no-good kid. You'd do the same if you were promised a good beat-down on other kids.

Vincent stayed more further away, a couple of buttons loyally beside him.(6) He looked more worried than the smug Pauly.

Modestly folding her hands, she addressed the crowd.

"Before I...play," She breathed. "I want to dedicate this song to someone. To my...boyfriend."

The crowd rumbled a bit, some even awed at the confession. Her father had a flurry of emotions of surprise, terror and anger reminiscent of a protective papa bear.

She pouted quickly in utter embarrassment, but steeled herself. She made her decision and she wasn't going to go back on it.

"Vincent." Vincent blinked at his name being called and Pauly's jaw dropped. "I'm behind you. One-hundred percent."

Turning away, she swiftly sat at the piano and played. And for a purpose.

As she played, Pauly's goons had migrated over to Vincent's side, furthering the notion that Vincent had won, becoming the Godbrother to both teens and children alike. It was, in hindsight, a historical moment.

She _really_ wished she went to bed early.

* * *

After the piano playing and the round of applause, Rachel retreated towards the back, to find a simmering ex-Godkid.

"You---you betrayer!" He sneered, his once immaculate hair a mess from stress. "You betrayed kids everywhere! Sided with teens! I wonder what will happen when the KND finds out?"

Rachel stared at him, unimpressed. "They'll figure out that I protected kids and teens alike from your tyranny. It doesn't matter who holds the title as long as they use it fairly!"

Pauly growled. "You made your decision and now I expect a little retribution from your lack of payments. Consider your pop's precious party ruined!"

"If there was any sense of decency within you, you'll focus your vengeance on me and not my dad," She quickly stated. "He had absolutely nothing to do with this."

"You should have thought of that before you turned down my offer!"

"Enough!" A resounding, deep boom echoed into the conversation. They both froze up at the commanding tone.

Vincent's men walked past Rachel, to surround Pauly, preventing him from doing anything.

"You traitors! Rats! You work for me!"

Vincent stood by Rachel, folding his arms elegantly. He looked more clean shaven and neat. It surprised her by his sudden transformation.

"Not anymore, they don't. You're officially broken, Pauly. I now own both teens and kids." Vincent said a serious look in his expression. (7)

"No, no, NO!" Pauly went into meltdown, stomping his feet on the ground like a wild animal.

Rachel and Vincent both looked at each other, highly embarrassed by Pauly's childish antics.

A voice cleared and they turned. Mr. Petrelli stood tall and strong, despite obvious aging around his features. He was flanked by tough looking adults. The Godfather.

"Pauly, you know better. Quiet." Pauly instantly stopped, deathly afraid of his father.

Vincent dipped his head in respect. "Father."

Mr. Petrelli turned to his eldest son and gently cradled his head. "My son. Excellent job. You win." Definitely more Marlon Brando than Pauly.

"Win?" Rachel wondered aloud.

He withdrew his hold on his son and turned to her. "Yes, Ms. McKenzie. You see, I envisioned this ruse, forcing them to compete for total control over kids and teens."

She shook her head. "I don't understand, sir. Why?"

A warm smile appeared on the older man's face and she was shocked. A man so intimidating can crack out a grin that nice?

"Kids these days," He began. "Are maturing quicker than before. TV, internet, movies, music...they are starting to blend with teens. It was only a matter of time before only the bare essentials are what would differentiate between the two. Only hormonal imperatives could truly keep them apart."

"Before, there was a large gap between kids and teens. We needed a Godkid to lead them. It is changing now. They are now more close together than ever before. Teens are now welcoming kids into cliques because kids are more aware of the maturity needed to become a teen. The factions have become friendly—at least, that's what Vincent argues." He nodded at Vincent, who shrugged.

"Pauly, on the other hand," He waved his hand lazily at Pauly, who pouted. "Believed that teens and kids could never get along. Only power could rear them at once. Only adults could ever hope to control them. As you can see, with opposing views, I had to teach them a lesson. I encouraged the family to take sides, to see how it would all turned out."

"You took a gamble," Rachel clarified darkly. "Despite what would happen if Pauly won?"

Mr. Petrelli mirrored his eldest son's actions. "Games will always have a gamble. But so will a revolution. Thanks to Vincent and your contributions, we no longer need a Godkid. The Godbrother will do just fine in taking care of both of them, teens and children alike. Vincent believes in the harmony between the two. Now that he has realized his position, he must make it happen."

Vincent nodded in agreement. Mr. Petrelli smiled even more broadly.

"I doubt that he will fail. As for you, you have made a decision based on the greater good. Despite the fact that you could betray your father in the process. It is something I'm not familiar with, but devotion to your ideals is something I can. Although, you pleaded direct retribution to you, in hopes of salvaging your father's reputation. It is admirable for someone your age to act with a heightened sense of maturity." Rachel blushed a bit from his statement.

"Uh, thanks."

Mr. Petrelli nodded. He motioned at a pouting Pauly. "You boy, still have much to learn. Perhaps one day you'll rise up again as your brother's wing man. But it takes maturity and strength. Now, your mother would like a word with you."

Pauly's pout grew, but he nodded respectfully. "Yes, father." He followed him out, shuffling his feet childishly against the marble floor.

Vincent leaned a bit to the side, a smile on his lips. As his father and brother retreated. "The balance of power is safe once again, sir."

The corners of her lips raised up slowly. "If I hear you abusing your power, I'll beat you black and blue, soldier."

He laughed. "Yes, ma'am."

"Now that that's cleared up, I just need to figure out how to tell my dad I'm not really dating without him hitting the roof." She sighed. "That, and almost all of the elite now knows. I really dug myself into a hole announcing that out loud."

His grin grew. "Oh yes. But it's alright. I officially allow you to break up with me. We wouldn't want the KND to hear you're fraternizing with the mob. It'll complete the corrupt politician motif."

"Shut up."

Guess not all teens are bad, after all. And with Vincent in charge, they may finally reach an understanding.

_Siamo venuto ai termini. _

**End Transmission**

_Next Prompt: Car_

_

* * *

  
_

_"Capo Crimini"_- Boss of bosses. The highest rank in the family and/or organization.

_"Comare"_ - A common term for a woman that they may be dating outside of marriage a Mafia mistress. (Though, it's much tamer in kid slang, which technically means 'girlfriend'.)

_"Fanabala"_ - Look that up. :P

_"Cugine"_ - A young ambitious gangster who wants to climb the ranks of power.

_"10-74"_ - Police code for **Civil Defense Clear**. Ironic, since he's part of the mob.

_"Buttons"_ - A Mafia 'soldier'.

_"Broken"_ - When a member is demoted in rank.

_"Siamo venuto ai termini"_ - We have come to terms.


	11. Prompt 9: Car

A/N: I like these alphabet-styled stories....Don't judge me! :(

No, I kid. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own KND. If you're are looking for the person who did, your best bet is to ask Mr. Warburton. He'll point you in the right direction.

* * *

**Rating: K**

**Genre: Humor**

_Prompt 9: Car _

**A** is for Apprehension, as in the look Supreme Leader Numbuh 362 had on her face when she was presented with ten foot tall paperwork requesting immediate budget increase for vehicle up-grades.

**B** is for Bankrupt, because she knew that if she tried to persuade Numbuh 675 to do so, he'll complain about that word in particular.

**C** is for Cup, as in the annual Kid v. Adult Formula 10 Cup. The inexplicable reason why it was imperative to get Numbuh 675 to reconsider.

**D** is for Disaster, because if he doesn't approve of it, KND will lose standing against those villainous adults and a riot will commence easily.

**E** is for Evil, which everybody is calling Numbuh 675 now because he refuses to approve of the budget increase. Cue riot.

**F** is for Faint, as in what Numbuh 2 did when he heard that the competition may be canceled. Not just him, but over three quarters of the 2x4 operatives on Moonbase alone.

**G** is for Grapefruit. Numbuh 675 hates grapefruits with a passion. Guess what filled up his entire office the next day due to irate co-workers?

**H** is for Hamster, as in the hamsters racking in the final bill for overall vehicle upgrades. Numbuh 362 nearly fainted herself from the crunched numbers.

**I** is for Idiot, as in Numbuh 5 calling Numbuh 4 that particular insult because he accidentally knocked over all the KND bicycles during the anti-treasury rally in a fit of anger. Now the bill was jacked up higher to fix the damages.

**J** is for Jump, because Father transmitted a message to Moonbase stating how happy he was that the stupid Kids Next Door were too poor to afford everyday garbage to fix up their vehicles. Everyone jumped at the chance to strangle Numbuh 675.

**K** is for Kick, as in Numbuh 675 hiding in the spare broom closet while the rioting operatives proceeded to kick the door down.

**L** is for Laugh, though Numbuh 362 considered it inappropriate to do so now, despite the hilarious way Numbuh 60 was dragging Numbuh 675 away by the back of his pants for an obvious wedgie.

**M** is for Mob, because as Numbuh 60 presented 675 to face the group, they were bearing makeshift torches. Numbuh 362 could see the terror on 675's face.

**N** is for No, as in Numbuh 86 asking 362's permission to strangle 675. Numbuh 362 believes there's a more harmless approach towards treasury approval.

**O** is for Order, because Numbuh 362 wanted the riot to quiet down so she may present an alternative solution that doesn't involve murder.

**P** is for Please, as in the Supreme Leader using the magic word to persuade 675 to reconsider. Everyone looked at her in surprise.

**Q** is for Quiet, because she needed to hear 675's answer to her plea. No kid has ever used the word so willingly before.

**R** is for Resistance, as in 675 obvious desire to say no, but can't because 'please' was the magic word of submitting.

**S** is for Surrender, because there was no way to say no to the Supreme Leader. That, and if he didn't agree, the angry mob in front of them will do it for him.

**T** is for Treasury, because they have reluctantly approved of the bill to be paid in full, resulting in the biggest cheer KND had ever seen.

**U** is for Up-grade. All vehicles were now to be scheduled on time for immediate up-grades. Now they had the chance to compete for the Cup.

**V** is for Vehicles, as in the now pimped out rides that Numbuh 2 and his fellow mechanics pulled after three weeks of sleepless nights. Every rider is itching for a race now.

**W** is for Winning, because during the race, the Delightfuls tried to cheat by knocking all the riders out of commission.

**X** is for X-TREME. That's the name Sector V had on their vehicle as they fought side-to-side with the Delightfuls, stopping them from sabotaging any more vehicles.

**Y** is for Yes, because that's what Numbuh 362 and others yelled out excitedly from the sidelines as Sector V knocked the Delightfuls out of the race, allowing Sector K the narrow win.

**Z** is for Zipper, which 362 delightfully reminded Father was unzipped, embarrassing him even more alongside his loss as they paraded the Cup up and down the tracks. Best day ever.

**End Transmission**

_Next Prompt: Artificial_


	12. Bonus Prompt 3: Marriage

A/N: Yay! A fun bonus prompt! Some of it's a bit silly-I've been tapping into those Spanish novella dramas these days in respect to it. :P

* * *

**Rating: K**

**Genre: Humor/Adventure**

_Bonus Prompt: Marriage_

Today was an important day for KND and for children all across the globe. Royalty was backing up their organization, dominating their standing against the world.

It was Moonbase's first diplomatic endeavor and they aimed not to mess it up. The Supreme Commander must appoint their greatest team in escorting the young Prince for the formal meeting.

So, it was obvious that Numbuh 362 would send the infamous Sector V on the case. She had no doubt that Nigel Uno would take the mission seriously. Sometimes _too_ seriously.

Rachel straightened her helmet near the hangar, trying to look even slightly presentable. Introduce herself to the Prince, escort him for the tour around Moonbase and then present him with lunch, something she forced Numbuh Spare Change for a $20 to deviate from the lunch menu. The Prince would be ecstatic to see the menu catering to his country's delicacies, even if it's consisted of well-aged cheese. The Cheese Shogun would weep with pride.

Taking a deep breath, she followed ahead of Numbuh 86 and 60, who flanked her from behind. As Global Tactical Officer, it was imperative for Fanny to walk alongside her. Patton, on the other hand, figured that to ease his boredom from lack of cadet training back on Arctic Base, he'd watch the historic proceedings.

Approaching the hangar where all incoming and outgoing ships were suspended on dock, she noticed only four of five Sector V members hanging outside their spacecraft, looking a bit miffed.

They all straightened and saluted in attention when they saw her.

"Numbuh 362!" Numbuh 1 said authoritatively. "We have arrived with Prince Shirl of Babbakabush."

She nodded plaintively, waving them back to an at ease before looking curiously at them. Their numbers were awfully small for some reason. She did a mental headcount. "Where's Numbuh 4?"

They all looked at each other. Kuki giggled.

"He had to go to the Dentist!" Numbuh 3 supplied happily. "He'll be back later!"

"I see." Usually, the KND initiated an immediate off-shuttle alert for kids forced to go to the dentist, but Numbuh 4 was probably being forced by his parents-which was an obvious rule to stand down from any rescue attempts. She raised her head to look over the group. "So, where's Prince Shirl?"

Nigel faltered a bit, slightly annoyed. "He's uh-he's in the shuttle."

"So go get him."

Abby lifted the tip of her hat up, looking disinterested. "He...uh...locked himself in the bathroom."

Rachel took a deep breath. She will not explode, she will _not_ explode. Today was not '_Supreme Leader Meltdown Day_', nope. "Okay. Why is he locked in the bathroom?"

Numbuh 2 looked away guiltily, whistling a random tune. Numbuh 5 smacked him upside the head.

"Hey!" He yelped.

"The fool decided that attempting the _Twirl-Swirl Extreme Wing Tip_ maneuver was appropriate while the Prince was on board!" Numbuh 5 shook her head in exasperation. "Numbuh 5 warned ya, but _no_! He scared the Prince into the bathroom."

"What?" Numbuh 362 growled. Fanny and Patton stepped back quietly, already bracing themselves for impact. "Why would you do such a STUPID thing, Numbuh 2?"

Hoagie chuckled meekly, shrugging his shoulders. "You know, when you say it _that_ way-with _that_ voice..."

"My apologies, sir." Nigel interrupted nervously. "It was a long routine flight and we wanted to show a little diversity in the flight plan. I didn't think it'd be THAT bad. Unfortunately, it _was_." The last bit was tapered with a monotonous drawl, which was Nigel-speak for complete exasperation.

Rachel had to spend over ten minutes explaining her operative's actions to the sickly Prince, apologizing for the trouble. It was only then did he agree to emerge from the shuttle.

* * *

Prince Shirl of Babbakabush was a pompous looking child with candy jewels and a styled shawl, with a very short temper. He cemented that fact by forcing Numbuh 60 and Numbuh 2 to carry his luggage while he introduced himself and yelled when they did it with a grumble.

"I am Prince Shirl of Babbakabush." He extended his hand towards Numbuh 362, which she hesitantly mirrored. She jumped when he shoved a baby chick onto her outstretched hand. "Accept this customary token."

Fanny wrinkled her nose in disgust at the offering, but said nothing. Rachel stared at the fluttering chick, which chirped indignantly at her.

"Um...thank you?"

He seemed please by her 'gratitude'. "We will be touring now, yes?"

Rachel nodded hastily, handing the chick over to Numbuh 3. Kuki screamed in delight.

"Oh, aren't you ADORABLE?"

"For monkey's sake, what the crud are in these bags?" Hoagie whined, heaving the large bag over his head. "The entire kingdom of Babbakabush...?"

He and Patton were trailing from behind the group, dragging the Prince's luggage, though Hoagie did most of the dragging. Patton fared a bit more well, keeping up with the pace despite three huge bags digging into his shoulders. It came with the territory of being a tough Sergeant on Arctic Base. Being in top physical condition was a necessity for the job.

Patton shifted the bags a bit higher up his back, crouching slightly from the weight. He wondered if it was a bad idea to visit Moonbase today.

"The guy's only here for a couple days!" Numbuh 60 gritted his teeth as one of the bags slipped slightly, tipping his balance for a moment. Numbuh 2 huffed in agreement. "This better be worth it!"

Fanny snickered, looking back at the two struggling operatives.

"Ye need a hand, ye two?" She grinned tauntingly. Hoagie stared back in terror while Patton contrasted the look by glaring. Turning away, she snickered at their plight.

As Rachel showed the Prince the Global Deck, Nigel stayed by her side, nodding and elaborating professionally alongside her, very proud at the chance to show off the Moonbase. Abby coolly trailed slightly behind with Fanny and Kuki, whom the latter was too busy playing with the offered chick.

"Excellent work as always, Numbuhs 3 and 5," Fanny tilted her chin up haughtily. "Numbuh 362 can always count on ye. Not like these stoopid boys!"

Abby rolled her eyes, stretching her hands behind her head lazily. "Whatever. It's not like Numbuh 5 was complainin' or anything. This mission was a _piece o' cake_."

Kuki had no comment as she continued her attentions on the baby chick, cooing the whole walk down.

They reached the alcove and beyond that the mega-sized cafeteria drifted out a strong aroma of cheese. Everybody cringed at the smell except for the prince, who diligently sniffed the air and sighed dreamily.

"Umphsa-donchebuss!" He exclaimed and reached out for Rachel's shoulders, shaking her in excitement. Hoagie let out an indignant yelp as heavy cargo landed on his foot, causing everyone to turn and witness the spectacle.

Rachel took the initiative to defuse the moment by removing the Prince's hands and smile, though she felt her brain rattle in her skull from the effect. It must be how his people show happiness.

She gestured towards the cafeteria. "Shall we? It has been a long trip."

Prince Shirl took no more encouragement than that and pressed forward, excitedly chatting in his native language. Rachel shrugged at Nigel and moved as well. Soon, everyone followed suit, with Patton seething quietly as he picked up the cargo he accidentally dropped on Hoagie's foot.

Hoagie hopped on his injured foot as soon as it was free. "Geez, you freak out at the littlest thing that happens to Numbuh 362!"

Patton fixed the cargo over his shoulders and soon gained ground in catching up with the group. "It's none of your business, cadet."

"I'm not a cadet anymore!" Hoagie retorted, but it fell on deaf's ears as he struggled to keep up with Patton.

Despite it being lunch time, barely any operatives were in the cafeteria. Though, it was most likely assumed that the stench kept the general populace at bay. Rachel's eyes began to water as they arrived in the cafeteria and blinked rapidly to avoid an unwarranted sob.

"So...I'll just ask what's on the menu from Numbuh Change for a $20..." She turned and addressed the group awkwardly. At least she wasn't the only one affected by the smell—Kuki stuffed the chick into her pocket in order to cover her face.

Prince Shirl wasted no time in procuring a seat for himself. Of course, with demanding extra cushioning for his seat, all of which had Patton go back and forth between levels just to provide the prince with, added even more to the Drill Sergeant's frustration.

Rachel gingerly sat across from the prince, pulling up a crude menu made up last minute by $20 himself. Most on the menu was written Babbakabush, which she had no coherency for. She wondered how $20 managed to write it up like so.

Before she could even open her mouth to inform Prince Shirl that the cafeteria was more buffet-like than ordered, Numbuh 4 pushed his way into the cafeteria, complaining up a storm.

"Man, did I have a cruddy day!" Numbuh 4 sat himself at the table next to the prince, which caused Sector V to still cautiously. "First, I had to go to that stoopid dentist and I barely managed to get away!" He turned to Numbuh 2 who in turn shook his head in warning. "Hey, Numbuh 2, did you know that your little brother's got like over a bazillion holes in his teeth? He nearly caused the windows to break when he screamed!"

"Uh, Numbuh 4...?" Rachel quietly muttered, her smile now stony. "Do you know who this is?"

It was rude to not introduce yourself to royalty and now Prince Shirl stared condescendingly at the Australian boy. Not good.

Numbuh 4 kept rambling, inadvertently ignoring her. He slumped in his seat much to everyone's terror. "Crikey, I'm starving! What's on the menu?" He snatched the menu from the prince's hands. "Thanks man! Now, let's see..."

"Uh...this is Numbuh 4. KND's top elite in hand-to-hand combat," Rachel presented quickly as the prince's temperament seemed to go further down south due to Wally's obnoxiousness. She chuckled nervously in the hopes of placating him. "You know how those dentists are...always gives children a reason to...err...act so..._idiotic_." Even she knew it was a stupid excuse. She focused a glare at Nigel, which caused the boy to clear his throat nervously.

"Right, right, right!" He added to the excuse and gestured to his teammates. "We have very difficult missions that deal with this kind of stuff and...we sometimes forget our manners. Right guys?" They nodded fervently, their smiles forced as well.

"A-positiv-a-lutely!"

"Numbuh 5 be working hard a lot."

"Hard work, yay!"

This seemed to calm the prince down and he snobbishly returned to the menu that Rachel offered.

"YUCK!" Numbuh 4 howled at the stolen menu. "What the crud is this stuff? And this smell? What happened to Sloppy Joe Wednesdays?" He pinched his nose as a particularly foul stench wafted on by. "Bleh to the ick!"

Rachel could see the prince visibly shaking in rage. In turn, she grabbed Numbuh 1's collar and pulled him close, her brown eyes glinting dangerously. "Numbuh 4 has insulted the Prince's way of life in less than five sentences! Do something!"

Nigel nodded vigorously before her hold on him disappeared and he started elbowing his subordinate in the ribs. "Shut up, Numbuh 4!" The rest of his team vocally agreed with their leader until Fanny started to chime in.

"Say yer sorry, ye stoopid idiot!" She threatened.

"What the crud is going on with you guys?" Numbuh 4 blinked at them all, obviously annoyed. He pointed his thumb at the prince's direction, smirking. "You'd think this _bum_ was some sort of prince or something..."

And then, there was an immediate silence.

Rachel was restrained by Patton before she could leap over the table and kill the dense operative.

They all paused when the prince stood up, his seat falling backwards with a resounding _clang_.

"I will not stand for this insult!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. "Brushka! Guards!" To their shock, a number of soldiers in strange clothes leaped from the rafters, surrounding the whole cafeteria.

"Wha? Who are these guys?" Numbuh 362 stood up in alarm, only to be forced down by both Patton and Fanny, who immediately defended her from the enemy.

Numbuh 5 palmed her face before lowering the cap down over her eyes. "I _knew_ we forgot something in the shuttle."

"So, err...I guess no Sloppy Joe Wednesday then? OW!" Wally was hit over the head by Abby.

Kuki, ever oblivious to the tense standoff, spun around cheerfully. "Wheee! Isn't it Tuesday?"

Numbuh 362 was surrounded by idiots.

* * *

"Numbuh 4, give me a good reason why I shouldn't put you on permanent Toiletnator duty for the rest of your days as an operative," Numbuh 362 asked threateningly, her hands twitching, ready to wring the blond's neck. "Just one good reason."

The aforementioned boy raised his hands in defense. "How was I supposed to know that the kid's that prince guy?"

"'Ow stoopid can ye get?" Numbuh 86 snapped. "Ye didn't notice 'e was wearin' a _crown_?"

"I knew I shouldn't have left Arctic Base," Numbuh 60 grumbled to Numbuh 5. "Trouble comes a rockin' when Sector V comes a knockin'."

"We resemble that remark!" Numbuh 2 chimed indignantly, which caused Numbuh 1 to facepalm.

"It's _resent_, not resemble," He responded in a deadpan. "And what are we supposed to do now? We can't even get near those big brutes to talk to the prince."

They were situated in a small hallway which led to the barracks for operatives planning overnighters on Moonbase. After the debacle in the cafeteria, Numbuh 362 was able to request that the Prince be sent to the biggest room to cool down, practically begging the boy not to back-out on their plans for peace. The Prince finally acquiesced and was now dwelling in one of the barracks, no doubt complaining about the decor.

Numbuh 4 kicked one of the metallic walls. "I don't understand why we even bother with the kid! So what if he's a prince? We're the Kids Next Door! We don't need this prissy pomp for anything!"

"That's not the point," Rachel grounded out carefully through her teeth. "His country is in a crucial location between the highest amount of broccoli fields in the world. Shipment to every grocery store goes through his dad, the King! If we can get Prince Shirl on our side, he'll allow the kids in his country to join our organization and we can plant a treebase there and stop it. This is why we're tripping all over ourselves to make sure he's happy! And you might as well have ruined it!"

"Eeeehhh..." Wally chuckled nervously when everyone, even Kuki, glared at him. Broccoli was the Kryptonite of children everywhere, sans the few who actually enjoyed it, but that was a rare thing. "Sorry?"

"You can apologize by going on hamster detail for the next week," Nigel said coolly, readjusting his sunglasses. Wally groaned angrily in response. "Unfortunately Commander, we'll just have to wait until Prince Shirl calms down enough to speak to you."

Turning to glance at Fanny, who looked positively murderous, Rachel sighed. "The waiting game it is then."

Letting Sector V stand watch, she ordered Fanny and Patton to follow her out when Prince Shirl's door was suddenly opened, a guard appearing into the corridor.

"Prince Shirl has been horribly offended!" The child guard shouted in a distinctive accent of Babbakabush, obviously unaware of something called an _indoor voice_. "His Majesty has requested amends for this injustice!"

"Can I speak with him?" Rachel inquired carefully.

The guard regarded her for a moment before straightening in attention and stepping aside. "His Majesty has requested the party to visit to speak of the amend." The party entered one at a time, before Numbuh 4 was barred entry by the guard.

"His Majesty has requested the entire party-except for the one who offended him," The guard rephrased, glaring at the short operative. "His Majesty does not wish to be in the presence of an uncouth street rat."

Numbuh 4 snarled, rolling up his sleeves and held up his fists. "I haven't understood a word you said, but I know the tone of a stuck-up! You wanna dance, you big oaf?" The guard ignored him, continuing to bar entrance. The party looked at him apologetically before entering fully.

"Sorry Numbuh 4!" Kuki trilled, waving at him happily. "I'll bring back a souvenir, kay?" Hoagie and Abby tried not to snicker at Wally's plight as they walked off.

"Best to just stand guard, Numbuh 4," Nigel said professionally, being the last to enter. "We'll have things taken care of from here."

Wally paced around for a second, obviously incensed from going in. "If I ever see _Princess_ _Shirley_ again, I'm gonna kick him right in the-!" The door closed shut, cutting off his tirade.

The room was huge, obviously outfitted to reflect Babbakabush's culture. Rachel was just surprised how fast they did it in the span of an hour. The group oohed and ahhed at the sight before noticing the prince, who was seated in a high backed chair encrusted with candy jewels.

"Mmm-mm! Numbuh 5 thinks His Majesty knows how to use candy right!" Abby said appreciatively to a rather illustrious set of hanging Jolly Ranchers of different colors. Kuki kept spinning around, admiring all the shiny objects.

"_Numbuh 60_ thinks His Majesty's style is horribly girly," Patton muttered sarcastically to himself, in response to Abby's comment. Prince Shirl didn't sit well with him, not at all.

Rachel sighed to herself, wondering how she ended up with such a firecracker group. If there was an invasion, this was the dream team, but diplomacy? She can sense disaster a mile away. Hiding her annoyed disposition, she smiled at the prince. "Your Majesty, on behalf of the Kids Next Door, we wholly apologize for the incident back in the Cafeteria. Please understand that our operatives have rare few interactions with royalty, but we are willing to make amends for the trouble."

The prince sat for a moment, his expression annoyed. Rachel held her breath for a moment, her smile still plastered on her face. Her operatives behind her stilled, waiting for something to happen. Prince Shirl finally stood up and walked towards them, his eyes seeming to study each person in the room.

"I will give the request to make amends," He finally said. "I require a _Queen_."

"Oh boy..." Hoagie felt around his pockets before leaning towards Patton. "Anybody got a pack of cards around here?"

"NOT A _CARD_ QUEEN, YOU IMBECILE!" Prince Shirl snarled. "A _Queen_-Queen!"

"Not with _that_ attitude, you won't!" Kuki wagged a finger at him chidingly, which prompted everyone except Rachel, Fanny, and Nigel to laugh. Even the guards by the door chortled with mirth.

"ENOUGH!" With a whirl of his majestic robes, he made a cutting notion across his neck at his guards, which caused them to fall silent again. "That is my amend and if you do not adhere to them, you can _FORGET_ asking for my country's alliance! I want a Queen! The prize of the kingdom!"

Fanny's eye twitched. "Ye little...mmmmffhhh!" The rest of her sentence was muffled. Rachel had covered Fanny's mouth who was obviously planning on going on some sort of pro-feminist tirade that would no doubt anger the prince even more. Patton snorted, trading disbelieving glances with Nigel.

"Where can we possibly find you a queen, your Majesty?" Rachel said in a placating manner before relinquishing her hold on her Global Tactical Officer. "I don't think we'll be able to find one willing to be a Queen here in the Kids Next Door." Well, anyone with the right head on their shoulders that is. But she wasn't stupid. This kid was Grade A royal and no child marriage is for pretend with them.

"I do not care who!" Prince Shirl contested indignantly. "In fact, I want whoever is in this room! No one will deny the chance to be Queen!"

"Except for Numbuh 5," Abby crossed her arms. "Numbuh 5 plans on bein' a doctor like her daddy."

"Ewwwwwww! Not me!" Kuki stuck her tongue out. "I'm just a kid! And mommy would be maaaad!" Everyone turned to Fanny and Rachel.

"Dunna even think abou' it!" Fanny glared at everyone who stared at her. "Seriously? Ye think I'mma gonna take it?"

"Well, couldn't say we hadn't tried," Nigel quipped in a monotone, which earned a well placed snicker from the Drill Sergeant.

Prince Shirl glared at each girl before resting his eyes on the Supreme Leader. "Think about it, Ms. 362. You have a kingdom just like me in a way. In fact, this is a better alternative. Marry me and you'll have my entire kingdom to use for yours. Negotiations and peace treaties...that little clubhouse thing you want installed? I can make that happen." Everyone paused, wondering why their Supreme Leader didn't even speak up to defend herself like the others.

Nigel stepped forward before Rachel can even open her mouth. "No way!" He was suddenly pushed aside by Patton.

"Pick another request, because the Supreme Leader's not interested," Numbuh 60 growled. He matched glares with the prince for a moment before Nigel shoved Patton aside as well.

"Listen, your beef is with me and my team!" Nigel contested. "How about we offer you our services for the day to make up for Numbuh 4? It can be a candy run for all we care!" Before Patton had the chance to shove back, Rachel pushed them both aside.

She cleared her throat, her posture becoming stiff and professional. "Neither of you will _not_ have anything to say in my defense, because your Supreme Leader didn't reach this position by twiddling her thumbs." Honestly, she's been manhandled enough for today-the stunt in the cafeteria, the sudden defending of her answer. She wasn't made of glass.

Both boys seemed on the brink of causing a mutiny in order to keep their leader from marrying some royal brat, but eventually both reluctantly stepped down when her gaze bore upon them darkly. She turned her attentions back to the prince. "Why are you so interested in gaining a Queen?"

"That-that's none of your business!" Prince Shirl stuttered over his answer. "Do you agree or not?" She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the prince before lightly shrugging.

"Sure."

The room volume erupted in an undignified fashion.

"WHAT?" Both Nigel and Patton balked in shock.

"Numbuh 362! Have ye lost yer mind?" Fanny's eyes widened before grabbing her superior commander's arm. Rachel just smiled at her reassuringly.

"Don't worry. This is the best outcome."

"Oooh! I love weddings!" Kuki cheered, waving her arms up in the air. "What should I wear?"

"We should've just dressed Numbuh 4 up as a girl and have him marry the prince instead," Numbuh 2 whispered conspiratorially to Numbuh 5, who coolly nodded in response.

"Now _that's_ something Numbuh 5 would pay to see!"

* * *

"Dad's gonna kill you," Numbuh 363 said, his nose wrinkling.

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him, right Harvey?" Numbuh 362 replied smoothly, tying her hair back in such fluid motions, Harvey had a sneaking feeling that she was taking this whole marriage thing too lightly.

Harvey was in his sister's main office, but he wasn't the only one. Numbuh 604 and 528 were with her, sizing and hemming up Rachel's wedding dress to Prince Shirl. Standard white with flowers which was typical for a pair of amateur seamstresses like 604 and 528. Actually, Rachel was surprised that they managed to fit her nicely with one.

Kicking a bit of ribbon away that was now littering the floor, he frowned when the two operatives worked to get the train of the dress going perfectly. "I don't like this, sir. Not one bit."

Rachel stopped from her hairstyling to smirk through the mirror, where she can see her little brother in the reflection. "Not ready to give your big sister away to someone else?"

"Either you've lost your marbles or you're planning something," Harvey corrected, though she can visibly see him pouting through the mirror. "If I know you any better, I'm betting on the latter."

"Did you get the stuff I asked from home?" She responded, dodging his observations quickly. When he nodded, she smiled brightly when he proceeded to drop a manila folder onto her desk. "Thanks Harvey...ouch!"

"Sorry sir!" Numbuh 528 said apologetically, retracting a pin from the side of the dress. Harvey saluted and walked out, secretly hoping that she had _something_ in mind.

* * *

An hour later and Rachel was greeted with the sight of Numbuh 60, who looked rather murderous. He spent the next few minutes deciding to pace around her office while she watched in amusement from behind her desk. Her wedding dress was draped on the nearest seat so she found herself in her usual clothes sans her gear. The wedding wouldn't be until tomorrow anyways.

"Now, now Patton," She smiled at him when he paused in mid pace, even more amused when his frown grew deeper. "I know I picked Fanny as my 'best man', but there's still a place for you in the ceremony."

"Enough of the jokes, sir," Patton moved closer to the desk. "Don't you understand that you're getting married? To that dork?"

Rachel raised an eyebrow at him before sighing. "Patton, when I took this job, I swore to have the KND be the best they could. Even if I have to marry to do it."

"I won't allow it," Patton firmly stated, slamming his hands on her desk. As the desk shook violently from the impact, Rachel watched as her favorite Rainbow Monkey mug fell off the edge and into the wastebasket.

"That's not your call is it, Numbuh 60? It's mine."

"What's wrong with you? You seriously want to get married?"

"Maybe I do. Maybe it's been my dream ever since I was a baby!"

"I won't let that pompous idiot marry you, Rachel!" Patton declared with a resolute air. "If you want to get married so bad, then _I'll_ marry you."

Rachel slowly blinked at him as they locked eyes. Silence reigned until she began to smile and laugh. "Don't you hear yourself, Patton? What will your cadets think?"

"I don't care what they think," He said quietly. "It's a better outcome, right? Marry me and Prince Shirl won't have any choice but to find someone else."

Her laughter trickled away into exasperation. "Patton..."

"I'm serious. We can elope."

"How do you even know that word?"

"Grandpa William Drilovsky IV eloped with my grandma after the Invasion of Normandy back in World War II," Patton frowned at the memory. "Or was it the Vietnam War?"

Rachel chuckled before flicking a bit of stray dark hair away from Patton's eyes. "I appreciate the offer, Patton, but I'm afraid I must decline."

"Why?"

"Because I'm trying to make this as less difficult as possible," She said as a matter of fact. "This wedding will happen Patton, whether you like it or not."

He narrowed his eyes at her, but nevertheless stood back, resigned. "Rachel..."

"That's an order, Numbuh 60."

* * *

"We can still dodge this offer, Numbuh 362. This isn't worth a chance to get rid of broccoli!"

"Listen to what you just said, Numbuh 1. No one likes broccoli. Not even you," Rachel leaned back in her squishy commander's chair, watching with a sense of deja vu as Nigel paced the exact same line as Patton did earlier, if not with a bit more force. "You and I both know Prince Shirl's cooperation is vital to halt the production of this vegetable, right?"

"Can't we just scramble the jets and bomb everything?" Nigel and his outrageous ideas again. Good Yipper. Rachel tried not to slouch in her seat from exasperation. She was still on the clock as his Supreme Leader after all and had to somewhat look the part these days.

"Sure Nigel, go do that. Start an international incident just because you don't want me to get _married_," She said sardonically. "Honestly, you and Patton. I don't know what to do with the both of you. _Fanny_ hasn't been giving me a hard time so far."

"That's because she's too busy haunting the gym showers trying to drown herself," Nigel answered back with his infamous drawl. "She thinks off the record that you've lost your marbles."

"Like I haven't heard that before today. Doesn't my subordinates have any faith in their leader at all?" The question was mostly directed at herself. It seems everyone's preoccupied with keeping her safe, which didn't sit well with her at all. Unless it was a life or death situation, she can take care of herself.

Nigel pushed his sunglasses up and folded his arms. "Are you saying you have a plan in mind to get out of it?" His tone seemed hopeful in spite of everything that's happened.

Rachel flipped open the file Harvey brought her and idly began to read. "Did you summon Numbuh 4 to my office like I asked?"

"You're dodging the question."

"Am I? Or did I already answer it?"

He raised an eyebrow, obviously confused. "Err...Numbuh 4's waiting outside."

She smiled at him, pouring every reassurance she had into it. "Excellent. Send him in. And do check on poor Fanny. I don't want her catching a cold before my big day."

"Why are you asking for him, sir?" It was a strange request to ask for Numbuh 4 after all.

Her lips pressed into a thin line. "Numbuh 4 got us into this mess. So I'm going to give him his comeuppance for it." Oh yes, that Aussie was going to pay dearly.

* * *

To say that a wedding was suddenly being held between a prince from Babbakabush and their beloved Supreme Leader and being _okay_ with it was the understatement of the era. Personnel freaked with security, operatives left and right left more of a buzz than necessary regarding how it happened and many were so befuddled, operations around the Moonbase was near to a stand still.

Rachel was more surprised that out of everything that happened, it was Sector PR stomping all over her tail about it, blowing hot and cold compliments regarding this new development. Numbuh 411, ever present in her suit and notepad, started issuing press related interviews despite the Supreme Leader's reassurance against it. This was a quick affair, but it was blowing out of proportion.

She dodged Sector PR long enough to get ready for the big event, a vision of calm to anyone who took a look at her. They didn't, however, notice the slight trembling of her hands and if they did, they threw it off as nerves. After all, getting married was kind of a big deal in one's life, right?

And she was a kid, no doubt. Her school's PTA would have a field day over this. However, she would do anything for the Kids Next Door without hesitation. Even this. Especially this.

As she was whisked away, she found her little entourage of operatives outside her office and smiled before being shoved inside to put on her dress. Honestly, she had to start hanging out with other Sectors aside from Sector V-she'll be accused of favoritism one day, she could feel it.

Abby and Hoagie smiled weakly at their commanding officer before she disappeared. They then turned to each other awkwardly.

"Well...it'll be one nice party at least," Hoagie chuckled nervously. "Numbuh 362 seems pretty okay about it."

Abby tilted her head down, her hat obscuring her eyes. "How okay would you be if you had to marry someone for diplomatic reasons? Either Rachel's a good actor, or she's gone off her high horse. And no, Numbuh 5 don't think she's lost it like the others believe."

Hoagie shrugged. "Hey, you're never wrong before. But what do I know about diplomacy and all that junk? I'm a pilot, not an ambassador."

"Numbuh 5 just saying that we keep on our toes, especially concerning Numbuh 1," Abby nodded her head to their leader, who seemed to be in some kind of disbelieving stupor. "If he does something stupid at the wedding, that's another notch on our Sector's list of international incidents."

"At least we'll be famous this way," Hoagie joked, stepping aside when Numbuh 3 danced over.

"Oooh! I'm so glad Numbuh 362 made me flower girl!" Kuki danced in her little pink dress. "Now if only Wally would get his keester here already so he can walk me down the aisle!"

Abby raised an eyebrow. "Numbuh 4 ain't here?" She looked around, seeing operatives moving to get the ceremony ready, but no familiar blond hair and orange hoodie.

"He hasn't been here since yesterday actually," Hoagie rubbed his chin conspiratorially. "Last time I saw him, he was ordered to see Numbuh 362."

Their musings over the whereabouts of their missing comrade was halted by Numbuh 86's appearance, who looked like she'd been eating five lemons before breakfast. Numbuh 60 trailed behind her, his disposition mirroring the red head's.

"Well, don't you two look positively _excited_ about the wedding..." Hoagie grinned at them, only to be offered a healthy dose of glares from both of the people he was addressing.

"Shut face!" Fanny snarled. "Is Numbuh 362 in 'er office?" Abby pointed over her shoulder and with a stiff nod, the Tactical Officer hovered in front of the door, obviously standing guard. They looked at her strangely for a moment, forcing her to answer to her strange behavior. "What's yer problem? I'mma suppos' ta stand guard!"

"What for?" Kuki asked curiously. Abby and Hoagie traded disbelieving looks.

"You guys aren't trying to stop her from going through with this, are ya?" Abby's eyebrow nearly went past her hairline when neither operative spoke. "You _are_!"

"That's mutiny!" Hoagie exclaimed, eyes widening as Patton took his spot on the other side of the door, inexpressive.

"She can punish us later," He responded back sternly. "We're not moving an inch until there's a better alternative."

They all stared at each other, an impending bout of awkwardness rising with every second of ensuing silence. It was only when Numbuh 1 joined the fray did it finally end, sunglasses glinting dangerously.

"A cute endeavor, but we've got to try something a little more influential," He said, surprising his team. He was agreeing to the mutiny? "You can't just bar her in her office until _something_ happens!"

"Numbuh 5 can't believe she's hearing this," Abby palmed her face. "You guys can't be serious! C'mon! This is Numbuh 362 we are talking about! You don't think she'd go through with this without thinking of a way out of it!"

Fanny shook her head, somewhat confused. "I dunno abou' that, lass. Ye really want to take that chance? What if she's waitin' for us ta do somethin' abou' it? What if she wants us to keep 'er from doin' it?"

"That's right!" Nigel slammed his fist into his palm. "It all makes sense now! We shouldn't bar her from the wedding!" Abby breathed a sigh of relief before... "We should _crash_ it!" She facepalmed.

"What?" Patton said shortly in disbelief. Like those cliched afternoon drama shows his mom liked watching?

"Oooh! Oooh!" Kuki began to bounce excitedly. "Like in Kawasaki drama where Taki and Misako were about to get married and the priest was all, 'Speak now or forever hold your peace!' and Hikaru crashes through the windows with his robot sidekick turtle named Kame-chan and says, 'I object!' and he runs away with Misako before she gets into that coma!"

Nigel scratched the side of his head at Kuki's ramblings. "Err...right, like that. Except for the going into a coma part."

"If we're lucky," Abby mumbled darkly. Knowing their track record, it wasn't impossible.

"And the robot sidekick turtle named Kame-chan," Hoagie supplied helpfully. "So...who's doing the 'I OBJECT!' thing?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Abby rubbed her eyes tiredly. "It's more appropriate if it was-"

"Me!" Both Nigel and Patton said in unison. They then glared at each other, sparks flying at the sudden animosity.

"I've been around her longer than you have, Uno," Patton growled dangerously.

"So? I've known her since the Academy! It's only natural that it'd be me!" Nigel defended hotly.

Hoagie raised his hand. "Hey, I can do it-"

"NO! It should be me!" They both yelled again in unison at Numbuh 2 before turning on each other. "No _me!_ Stop copying me!"

Fanny folded her arms, glowering at the two bickering boys. "Boys are so stoopid."

"Ninety-nine percent of the time, yeah," Abby agreed.

* * *

The wedding, which was moved onto the Global Command deck due to time restraints, wasn't as decorated as the royal party liked, but with such hasty planning, the whole place was cramped, with operatives complaining a storm about it.

Nevertheless, the ceremony finally began, the music being loud and off-key thanks to Engineering's terrible band. It didn't help that the only songs children their age were able to play were _Twinkle Twinkle Little Star_ and _Old McDonald_. At least they were trying.

Rachel was hiding in the hallway before the entrance, peering at the massive confusion that was her operatives. Some were excited while others were intensely confused, wondering if this was some sort of joke. She didn't blame them, she'd be pretty confused too.

Numbuh Infinity clapped her on the shoulder, being the one chosen to lead her down the aisle. "This is a wonderful cause you are doing, Numbuh 362. Babbakabush is one of the hardest countries to covert that we have on the roster at the moment. This will greatly help us against the mass distribution of broccoli, no doubt."

"I'm just so glad to be doing this for the cause," Rachel said sarcastically, righting up the infernal wedding dress. "It's been my dream to get married for _political reasons_."

Numbuh Infinity chuckled. "I suppose I should allow you a few choice words of wisdom before the inevitable happens. If it's any consolation, the guys at the top are now _very_ interested in you."

"Guys at the top?"

"It's of no concern for now," The dark skinned diplomat gave her one of his infamous neutral smiles. He held out his elbow to her. "Shall we?"

Smiling hesitantly, she took it, both emerging from the corridor and onto the deck. The whole buzzing crowd fell into a hush as they approached the altar.

"Nervous, Numbuh 362?" He can feel her arm starting to tremble in his.

"Of course not...Numbuh Infinity," She replied in a small stutter. "Just...hoping my knight will arrive to stop this."

He chuckled. "If only fairytales applied to the real world, Numbuh 362."

They made their way past Numbuh 3, who had done a pretty good job causing a flowery mess all over the aisle. Kuki sat next to Abby and Hoagie, who both looked like they'd rather be elsewhere.

"I can't believe this," Hoagie muttered darkly. "A wedding and there's not even a cake!" Abby elbowed him hard in the gut.

"We've got other things to worry about aside from food, Numbuh 2!" She whispered beneath the loud, terrible wedding march. "Like Numbuh 1 and 60 doing something incredibly stupid!"

"You heard them," He rubbed his now sore gut. "What if the Supreme Leader is counting on us to bust in and save her hide?"

Abby rolled her eyes before tugging the cap over them. "She would've told us, wouldn't she? Ah, whatever man. Leave me out of this." If Lizzie were to ever hear that Nigel's crashing a wedding to steal the bride away, she'd erupt like a volcano. It sure was a good thing that she was on his side.

Meanwhile, both Nigel and Patton were hiding behind the command panels, arguing over which one should be back up to who.

"We keep arguing and we'll miss the objection, Uno!" Patton hissed as he peered over the panels to see Rachel already at the altar with Prince Shirl. He had half the mind to back out on the plan only to go over there and punch the prince's smug face for trying to get away with marrying his friend.

Nigel scowled at the Drill Sergeant. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe I should be the one to do it? After all, it was _my_ team that got us into this mess and _we_ should be the ones to fix it!"

"It's your mistake alright, but I get things _done_. I've got the image and no one wants to fight with me if they value their _teeth_," Patton began to crack his knuckles in earnest, which caused Nigel to gulp at the sight.

"If I recall, I seem to remember Numbuh 362 specifically _ordering_ you to stand down, did she not?" Nigel noted dryly, earning a glare from his comrade. "I should do this!"

"If I was gonna mutiny before, it's no different now. I'm stopping this!"

"No you're not! I am!"

"Stand down cadet or I'll make you run laps around Moonbase!"

"I'm not a cadet anymore, _sir_!"

"Could've fooled me!"

This shouting match continued well into the vows that they nearly missed the cut off for objection, tripping over themselves to reach the altar.

"If anyone objects to this marriage thingy, speak now or forever hold your peace," Numbuh 74.239 stated out loud, causing the mass of cadets to whisper to themselves, wondering if anyone should stop them from having the Supreme Leader married off.

Rachel said nothing, looking straight ahead as if nothing was wrong. She can feel all sorts of eyes burn into her back. She was probably causing a huge stir for her sudden agreement into this whole fiasco, but it couldn't be helped. She wasn't going to let any of the other girls take the fall for this. Her hands continued to tremble, but it was far from nervousness.

It was excitement.

Before Patton or Nigel can fight each other off long enough to interject, a shuttle practically crashed onto the observation deck above, startling everyone below.

"We're under attack!" Numbuh 86 roared, whistling for the Moonbase guards to assess the invasion. Every operative jumped on alert.

The shuttle door opened, smoke from the collision unfurling out as a lone person jumped off deck and onto a global command panel.

"I OBJECT!" The invader shouted, pointing at the air triumphantly.

Rachel smirked. "My _hero_. About time too."

"Numbuh 4?" All of Sector V called out in shock, except for Kuki who had her hands on her hips, looking very agitated.

"Where have you been, Wally?" She shrilled angrily. "You were supposed to walk me down the aisle!"

Numbuh 4 jumped off the panel and ran down said aisle, pointing at the irate prince. "Never mess with Numbuh 4, _Princess Shirley_!"

"I am NOT Princess Shirley!" He bellowed angrily, stamping his feet childishly. "And I will not have this oaf RUIN. MY. WEDDING! Guards!"

"Yer gonna have me arrested when I went through all this trouble picking up a good friend?" Wally taunted, stepping aside to reveal the second person in the shuttle. Prince Shirl stood back in fear, nearly toppling over Numbuh 74.239.

The girl was a bit on the heavy side, with dark hair wrapped in pigtails. She had an expensive shawl draped over her, obviously Babbakabushian.

"Shirllllllllly!" She whined, her eyes blazing with an intense heat. Everyone stood back in alarm. "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO MARRY MEEEEEEEE!"

Abby snickered with Hoagie, pointing her thumb at the girl when she noticed Nigel. "She remind you of anyone, _Nigie_?" Hoagie started to burst into laughter, clutching his gut.

Nigel chuckled nervously, ignoring the obvious grin his rival was sporting. "Of-of course not."

"You think I wouldn't have known, your Majesty?" Rachel said smoothly as she set the bouquet aside. "Every prince has to have a _betrothed_ after all. I simply had my boys do a bit of snooping to find out which one and low and behold, you had one right under your nose." She smiled at him. "What's wrong? Relationship troubles with your future bride?"

Prince Shirl glared at her, keeping his distance from his 'fiancee'. "What do you hope to accomplish with this?"

"You stoopid or something?" Wally smacked his head for emphasis. "You got two options, bud! You either marry our Supreme Leader and she cashes in on everything you've got while she makes your life a living sewer drain, or we have your girlfriend marry you instead. We wouldn't want to waste the _wedding cake_!"

"There IS no wedding ca-" Hoagie was about to correct before Abby shut him up with a glare.

"Or you have the third option," Rachel intervened with a diplomatic air. "We can forget this whole wedding business and just accept Numbuh 4's apology as a way to make amends. We put this stupid thing behind us and we get to talking about treaties."

Numbuh 4 looked livid at the idea of apologizing. "I'm not apologizing to him!"

With a frustrated growl, Fanny swooped over and grabbed the front of Wally's hoodie, hoisting him up menacingly. "Yer gonna do as she says, or yer gonna get popped! Understood?"

"Okay, okay!" He struggled before she dropped him on his butt. "Jeez..."

"But I wanna get married!" Princess Tushka began to whine. "Your dad's gonna be so mad when he finds out you're marrying someone other than ME!"

Prince Shirl was silent for a moment, obviously debating his choices. He paled when Rachel presented him with a contract that she called a 'prenuptial agreement' she had gotten from home, meaning by law if they divorce, she's allowed to take his entire kingdom as her own if they marry. With that hanging on his head and the shrill demands of his intended fiancee, he crumpled easily.

"You play a clever game, Ms. Rachel," He finally said before turning to Numbuh Infinity. "Fine, no wedding and we go through negotiations as planned."

The entire global deck erupted into cheers. Mostly from the boys, who already found the idea of marriage icky enough as it is.

"BUT!" He pointed up to force silence back into the room. "I want that undisciplined monkey to apologize for insulting me!"

"OY! Who you calling an indisciplinarymentarionism monkey?" Wally growled before Rachel glared at him, forcing him to behave. "Err...fine! I'm...soooooorrrrrrryyyyyy! Okay?"

Patton sighed, nursing a headache that was beginning to form. "I should've just stayed back on Earth."

* * *

After everything was finally settled and done, Rachel was happily back in her Supreme Commander gear, taking a walk with Fanny and Patton along the quiet Observation Deck, the wreckage of Numbuh 4's shuttle cleaned up and the deck back in working order.

"So, you had a plan all along and you didn't even tell us?" Patton watched as Rachel, strange enough, did a rather peculiar thing by walking along the railing like a balance beam. It was rather...childish.

"I really wanted to tell you guys, I did," She raised her arms up in a 'T' formation as she balanced her way around the deck, rather amused and irritated at the same time that Patton tried his best to look nonchalant about what she's doing, only to tense up like a board when she lost her balance for a moment. "But this was more...fun this way. You honestly didn't think that I'd get married without a fight, did you?"

"More...fun?" Fanny said blankly, looking in disbelief at Patton before saying anything more. "It doesn't seem like ye ta gamble everything jus' because it was _fun_. What if Numbuh 4 didn't arrive in time?"

Rachel seemed to contemplate this, looking up at the dome to see the bright, ever present stars. "I guess I would've just done the Plan B thing, which was doing the prenup. I doubt he'd want to hand me his entire kingdom if things didn't plan out right in the end," She halted in her balancing, stopping for a moment to raise an eyebrow at them. "I don't think you understand how excited I was to do something...spontaneous, you know? Like a mission I used to do back when I was in Intel. Trick the enemy and succeeding. That was the thrill I loved. I'm always stuck doing desk work or telling people what to do. I'd like to do something exciting once in a while too."

She proceeded to jump down, only to have both Patton and Fanny on either side, ready to help her down themselves. She frowned and folded her arms, refusing their help. "See! This is what I'm talking about! I'm not going to break my legs here, guys. Have you forgotten that I used to be out there on the field too? Doing crazy things like the other Sectors do?"

"Yer our Supreme Leadah, lass," Fanny said with a shrug. "We know yer like us an' ye did da same things too."

"Yeah? And?" Rachel implored Fanny, only for Patton to answer instead.

"Rachel, if something happens to you, what are we going to do?" He simply stated. "You've been the best thing to happen to us since Numbuh 100. We can't just replace someone like you on a whim."

Fanny nodded. "We'd be lost without ye. We don't do it jus' because yer in charge either. Yer our friend an' we always want to help ye out, jus' as ye do everyday for the Kids Next Door."

She unfolded her arms, touched at their words. "Guys..." Both Fanny and Patton looked at each other for a moment before stepping aside, allowing her to jump down on her own.

"I guess I can admit that I do need help sometimes," She admitted, twiddling her thumbs for a moment, a bit embarrassed. "Next time, I'll let you guys in on the joke. Deal?"

"Deal." They both chimed in unison as Rachel raised her hands up to them, obviously asking for some help.

Offering their arms to her, she took their hands and finally jumped down.

**End Transmission**

_Next Prompt: Artificial_


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